Two people are dead following a fire early Sunday morning in the small community of Wirral, N.B. about 60 kilometres northwest of Saint John.
Fire crews were called to the scene about 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning and found flames were already ripping through the structure. Cars in the driveway indicated people were likely inside.
“A neighbour came up the road and that neighbour told us that if both vehicles were in the driveway more than likely they were at home,” said Daryl Price, chief of the nearby Hoyt Fire Department.
The victims’ names haven’t been released. Price says four fire departments fought the blaze, but with the home fully involved, not much could be done.
“We pumped in excess of 15,000 gallons of water yesterday, so just to try to get it so we could go and … the fire marshal’s office (could) start doing their investigation and the RCMP.”
Residents in the tight knit community are taking it hard.
“I was shocked, I was almost in tears,” said long time resident Gail Willis. “They were very well known and involved in a lot of things.”
Willis said tragedies like this stick with you, sometimes for decades.
“Back in 1970 we had a very tragic flood and somebody did not make it at the time,” Willis explained. “For many years that still remains with us.”
And Willis said that will repeat itself with this tragedy.
“It will be every Christmas time when each year rolls around, we’ll always remember this.”
Firefighters who were involved will be going through a stress debriefing as well.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
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