There was still no word Monday on what caused a fire that destroyed one home and extensively damaged another in Dartmouth Sunday afternoon.
The fire started around 3:30 p.m. No one was inside either home at the time, however neighbouring homes were evacuated while firefighters tried to get things under control.
“We could see the flames from the house shooting right out the side and just about touching our home, so all I could do was stand next door and pray to God to protect it because it was really too close for comfort,” says home owner Jill Provoe.
Provoe credits firefighters for saving her home.
“He was tackling that flame and just dosing our house with water, I suppose to protect it from any flames from igniting the house. He spent probably a good half hour on his hands and knees,” says Provoe.
More than 30 firefighters were on hand, along with two aerials.
“Crews weren't able to go inside those buildings because of the nature of the fire,” says Divisional Chief Dave Meldrum of Halifax Regional Fire. “We fought the fire from the outside using our large diameter hose lines and using literally thousands of gallons of water every minute.”
Shelly Beazley lives across the street from where the fire started.
“It came pretty close even to the front yard here, they were putting the mulch out,” says Beazley.
Once she realized where the fire was coming from, Beazley says she loaded up her family, including an eight day old baby and ran for safety.
“So we headed out the back with our three kids, dog, cat, threw everybody over the fence and got down to the neighbours below,” says Beazley.
Talk in the neighbourhood is that a barbeque may be to blame for the fire.
“I can tell you that those rumours are outright speculation,” says Meldrum. “This fire is still under investigation and as soon as we have a fire cause report ready, we will make it available.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
