TRURO, N.S. — When two town employees spotted a house on fire they reacted quickly, and the women who were inside are very grateful.
“Vernon (Arndt) and I happened to be driving by and when we turned at the end of Prince Street we saw sparking and fire,” said Jason Rann. “We got over there and while I was looking for the fire extinguisher in our truck Vernon went to the door.”
The residents weren’t near the door, so he had to beat on it repeatedly, but 90-year-old Elenor Jones eventually heard the noise.
“When she opened the door, they told her the house was on fire,” said her daughter Elizabeth Wilson, who was visiting from Ontario. “The meter box was on fire.
“They’d called the fire department, and they showed up quickly. Luckily, the fire didn’t get through the wall; the oil tank was just below and if the fire had reached it we could have died. We’re really grateful to these young men.”
The incident took place around 9:45 a.m. on July 22 and resulted in a loss of power to most of West Prince Street. People were coming out of their houses, seeing the town truck and asking Rann and Arndt what they were doing that caused a power outage.
The cause of the fire is unknown but there was very little damage and a new power meter has been installed on the house.
“I’m just glad we were there at the right time to be able to help,” said Rann. “I think most people would have done the same thing.”
