DARTMOUTH N.S. - A Dartmouth family is relieved and grateful after being alerted to a fire by a Good Samaritan early Saturday morning.
But they remain worried, after they say their security video shows they may have been a target of foul play.
Police received a call at 5:29 a.m. of a vehicle fire in the driveway of a home on the 40 block of Lehman Drive in Dartmouth that was quickly spreading to the house.
The homeowner, Crystal Wakunick, tells CTV Atlantic her family was fortunate that someone was leaving the nearby mosque, and alerted the family.
"I was asleep and I got woken up by people banging at my door, like kicking in type of deal saying the truck was on fire I come out and called 911 as because it was all lit up,”
The family runs the Under-Cut Tree Care. The vehicle in question was their company truck filled with expensive equipment, including nine chainsaws.
"It’s my whole heart of the business. Lost everything. We were just getting set up. Didn't have insurance," said arborist Andrew Delaney.
After reviewing surveillance footage, the family was says they were even more alarmed to see someone on the video around the vehicle just shortly after 5 a.m., then smoke and flames erupt.
The heat from the flames also scorched the outside of their home where children lay sleeping inside.
“It’s just so bad. It’s horrible so much could have happened if the kids didn't answer, the dogs didn't bark, could have been way more serious than a truck. It’s our livelihood. It’s our business but like he says it’s a bucket of bolts compared to what it could have been,” said Wakunick
The fire comes just as the family was trying to rebuild their business after facing another tragedy just a year ago.
“"I was in a car accident last year & broke both arms & missed the season last year. Just getting back on our feet and scraped up enough money for truck to lose it all again," said Delaney.
The security video is in the hands of police, and officers remain on scene. They have deemed the fire suspicious and the investigation remains ongoing as they canvass neighbourhood. They aak anyone with any information to come forward.
