Dwane Mellish, chief of the Bible Hill Fire Brigade, said a Colchester RCMP officer helped four residents and their pets evacuate a College Road home early Sunday morning when fire broke out.
“One male had burns to his hand, and he was taken by (Emergency Health Services) to Colchester East Hants Health Centre,” said Mellish. “I’m not sure the extent of the burns, but he was released (Sunday) morning.”
Firefighters received a call at 3 a.m. of a structure fire – a residence – with possible entrapment. Truro Fire Service responded with a pumper as per their automatic mutual aid program, and Bible Hill quickly called for mutual aid from Valley-Kemptown firefighters, police and paramedics.
“There was some smoke damage to the inside. The residents tried to extinguish the fire with an extinguisher, and the RCMP helped out. It was completely extinguished by the time we arrived, and our mutual aid works so well, Valley-Kemptown had the first firefighter on scene,” said Mellish.
The fire started in a garbage can through the remnants of smoking materials not properly extinguished. The residents didn’t have a working smoke detector.
The smoke materials, said Mellish, caught fire inside the garbage can, and moved to the adjacent furniture before climbing up the curtains.
“We really commend the work of our mutual aid partners. From the RCMP to other fire departments and EHS, we have a good working relationship with all.”
The home was being ventilated Sunday afternoon and Mellish expected the residents to be back in later in the evening.
Twitter: @TDNRaissa
