Fire destroys 2 adjacent homes on Portia Place
Two adjacent homes on Portia Place in St. John's have been destroyed by fire.
The St. John's Regional Fire Department received a call about a two-unit fire at 5:50 a.m. Sunday.
Platoon Chief Rick DeHann told CBC that when crews arrived at the scene, they "were met with heavy fire and smoke."
DeHann said there was also a report that people were trapped inside.
"We attempted to make entry, and were pushed back by the heavy flame. Once we did get the flame knocked down, we were able to gain entry," he said.
"Subsequently we did extinguish the fire … did several searches for the reported people. We've since learned that there wasn't anybody in the structure, and we're quite relieved."
Close to 30 firefighters fought the fire.
Crews remained at the scene to ensure all hot spots were completely extinguished.
