WESTVILLE, N.S. - The victims of a fatal house fire in Westville, N.S., on Canada Day have been identified.
Pennual (Penny) Louise Duggan, 84, and her 56-year-old son Carl Allan Crawford were the residents of the home on South Main Street, the Westville Police said in a news release. They perished early Sunday morning in a house fire, along with their three family pets.
Neighbours told CTV Atlantic that Duggan had lived in the home for many years and was well known in the community.
Westville firefighters responded to the blaze just after midnight. Theyarrived to the scene in just minutes and were able to extinguish the fire and keep the house standing, but it was too late to save the occupants.
Firefighters remained on the scene for about three hours. Departments from Stellarton and Alma helped out and there were as many as 34 firefighters on the scene.
Westville police investigators, the fire marshal’s office, along with the RCMP forensics team and major crimes unit, investigated the fire and South Main Street was closed to traffic for much of Sunday.
Westville police say there has been no determination of the cause of the fire. Foul play is not suspected, but the investigation continues.
Westville is a town of 3,500 residents a few kilometres south of New Glasgow.
