HALIFAX – A homeowner in Hammonds Plains says it took him 40 minutes to reach 911 while his house was on fire Wednesday night.
On Thursday, the 76-year-old man, who lives on Brenda Drive, said his call wouldn’t go through the night before — he heard a message telling him to dial the area code, and when he did, he heard a different message telling him not to. Nova Scotia instituted 10-digit dialing earlier this year, but the new rules do not apply to 911 calls.
Eventually, he said the call went through. The man said that because of the delay, crews didn’t arrive on the scene until an hour after the fire had started.
A spokesperson from the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office (EMO) said Thursday that the 911 system was operational on Wednesday when the call was placed, and the problem could have stemmed from an issue with the man’s phone service provider.
She said the EMO had not received any complaints from the homeowner, and his call was received at 10:29 p.m. She added that the 911 system does not play recorded messages, and if the homeowner heard one, it could have been because he dialed another number first.
RCMP said the fire was reported around 10:30 p.m. The house was fully engulfed in flames when emergency responders arrived.
The fire destroyed large sections of the roof and heavily damaged the structure.
Two people were inside when the fire started, but managed to get out unharmed.
Police said the fire does not appear suspicious, but there is no word on the cause yet.
The investigation is continuing.
With files from Mayya Assouad, Global News
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