A fatal fire in the town of Bridgewater, N.S., is being described by the police force’s deputy chief as the “most intense fire” he’s ever responded to in his career.
Two residential buildings on King Street went up in flames around noon on Wednesday, with a third building at risk of catching fire.
Police said they later found a body inside one of the buildings and believe the remains belong to a resident who had been considered missing.
“That building was way too intense of a blaze for anyone to go in there and come out alive,” said Bridgewater police deputy Chief Danny MacPhee.
“It was a very significant fire that our fire service worked diligently at with all their mutual aid partners.”
MacPhee says the fire chief was on scene “within the first minute” but with the wind and warm temperatures, the blaze was already out of control.
“And it really quickly escalated when the electrical lines started to explode and sparks were flying everywhere and the fire just kept getting bigger,” said Victoria Scully, a business owner on the street.
The Bridgewater Fire Department is a volunteer department.
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Hundreds of volunteer firefighters from that department and neighbouring counties responded to the scene.
MacPhee says they fought the flames all day in the heat before first responders were able to enter the apartment building that evening.
“And we did locate a deceased person in one of the basement apartments,” he said.
The tragic discovery has left the entire town in shock.
“I talked to friends of the person who was unaccounted for, just seeing the pain on their face — I mean, it’s just a tragedy and we don’t see these every day,” said Mayor David Mitchell.
The mayor adds that seeing 15 fire departments rushing “without question to help our town” was also very overwhelming.
“What I saw yesterday when I was on scene was a lot of community support,” he said.
“Beyond the mutual aid of the fire departments, a lot of people messaging, ‘Can I bring food? Can I bring water?’ Offering up a place to stay. So it’s very much impacted a tight-knit community.”
That’s something felt equally by business owners on the street also impacted by the fire.
“I feel taken care of; I feel like they responded really quickly, really well. I was blown away by how well the situation was handled, personally,” said Laura Besaw.
The mayor says the town is now rallying together to support the displaced occupants and find answers about what happened.
“The police and the medical examiner and the fire marshal will do their investigation. And so our commitment is that answers will be forthcoming,” said Mitchell.
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