Tenants wait to hear when they can return home after Dartmouth fire
Tenants of an apartment building that caught fire in Dartmouth, N.S., on Saturday are still waiting to hear when they can go home.
Close to 150 people were evacuated from the four-storey building at 81 Primrose St. at about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Canadian Red Cross.
One person died as a result of the fire and another was sent to hospital.
Deputy fire Chief Roy Hollett said crews rescued between 15 and 20 people using ladder trucks on Saturday morning.
He said it's too early to tell what caused the fire or whether it's suspicious.
"Looking at the damage, we may not be able to find out what happened," he said, adding they've been interviewing residents about what they witnessed.
Electricity and water to the 80-unit building were disconnected for safety reasons and it's unclear when they will be turned back on.
Hollett said he didn't know when tenants would be able to return to the unaffected units in the building.
"It's going to be slowed down until I get a structural engineer to tell us that it's OK. We can do some probing in the building on the fire floor, but right now with the degree of damage, I want to make sure there's no risk of a wall collapsing," he said.
Cat found
On Sunday afternoon, Charlotte MacFarlane, who lives in the back of the building, which was not affected by the fire, pleaded with firefighters to let her into her apartment to get her cat.
T.C., which stands for Trouble Cat, was sitting in the window of her first-floor unit.
"When I saw T.C. in the window, I screamed so loud I thought you'd hear me on the other side of the building," she said.
Two firefighters accompanied MacFarlane to get her pet.
"I got him!" she said, as she carried the cat out of the building.
"When I went in, he came out of hiding again and I picked him up and I wouldn't let him go ... He looks good. He doesn't have any marks on him, no dirt. He's shedding like crazy. But I'm just grateful he's OK."
MacFarlane said one of her cats jumped on her and woke her up the night of the fire. But when she went to leave, she couldn't find T.C. and she was forced to leave without him.
MacFarlane and her cats are staying with her father.
Emergency shelter established
But for those without a place to stay, an emergency shelter at Dartmouth North Community Centre was established.
Nicholas Williams, disaster management co-ordinator for the Canadian Red Cross, said about a dozen people stayed there on Saturday night. He said they would be open again on Sunday night and were assessing needs on a 24-hour basis.
Williams said there's been more demand by displaced tenants to use the shelter.
"Obviously, this is turning into a bit longer term, but we are really encouraging everyone for looking at plan Bs and getting in touch with their building manager," he said.
Williams said they're working with officials to get vehicles and belongings out of the building.
Susan Leblanc, the MLA for Dartmouth North, stopped by the shelter on Sunday to see how she could support those affected by the fire.
"I think people are in shock," she said.
Leblanc said she knows of one woman who lost everything.
"She went to the hospital in her pyjamas and even had to throw her pyjamas out," she said.
"I hope the province will step up with resources to get [people] re-housed. That would be the most important thing right now."
A 2nd Dartmouth fire
Less than two hours after crews were called to the Primrose Street fire on Saturday, firefighters got another call about a fire at the corner of Robert Burns Drive and Brule Street, just 750 metres away.
According to the Red Cross, at least five people were displaced. It said two tenants from the six-unit residential and commercial building stayed at the emergency shelter.
Both Hollett and the Halifax Regional Police said they do not believe the two fires are related.
"Right now, they just appear to be very, very unfortunate coincidences," Hollett said.
