Fire crews responded to a call of a fire at a four-unit building in Moncton early Wednesday afternoon.
After firefighters created a hole in the roof to vent the fire, RCMP officers went around the neighbourhood to clear away people approaching the scene.
There was also an unconfirmed report of a threat being made against those at the scene.
Witnesses say they saw a man running from the building carrying a child.
“As I was running toward the house the father figure came out of the house holding a small child,” said witness, Patricia Chipp. “I grabbed the child and escorted him over to the playground and waited for RCMP and a fire truck to arrive.”
Chipp said the child was responsive.
“When I took him from his father's arms in the front of the doorstep, he clenched to me shaking vigorously and he kept saying, ‘Why is there a fire in my house?’ And I just told him sometimes you can't control things,” she said.
Upon arrival, Moncton firefighters entered the and rescued a cat.
“We did have one cat that was (subject to) smoke inhalation when the firefighters brought it out so we sent it to the vet with one of the off-duty firefighters. The cat is on oxygen and still breathing so she's on her way to the vet,” said Chief Don McCabe.
Chief McCabe says early indications suggest the fire started in a barn behind the house.
“The mini barn in the back and it extended into the soffit of the house in the rear and then extended through the whole attic space.”
By late afternoon, the fire was under control and RCMP put away their weapons and vests.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis
