Two homes are badly damaged and one pet is dead after a fire in the north end of Halifax.
Crews were called to the scene on Sullivan Street around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
It appears one home caught fire, which then spread to the house next door.
“It was a bunch of smoke, and as I was on the phone with the dispatcher, it just lit up,” said neighbour Kennedy Turner, who called 911 when she saw smoke from across the street. “A bunch or orange just lit up into the back of the house.”
Several trucks were on scene as firefighters attempted to stop the flames from spreading to other homes on the street.
Emotions ran high, as family members watched firefighters work to put out the remaining hot spots. Luckily, everyone made it out safely.
“No injuries reported, but there was somebody home at 5526,” said Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency District Chief Mike Blackburn.
Neighbours came together to offer support during a high-stress time.
“Joe was trying to go back in to get their cat,” said Turner. “I was screaming at him like, ‘you're not going back inside this house.’”
While all the residents are OK, firefighters did give oxygen to a pet cat, who did not survive. But other pets, including an iguana and a dog, made it out OK.
It was a tough job for the firefighters, made even more difficult by temperatures that soared close to 30 C.
In that kind of heat, firefighters are only allowed inside an active house fire for 20 minutes at a time, then they are pulled outside to rest.
“It's tough as you can see,” Blackburn said. “The guys and girls work hard. Extended heat in there, they come out here and get rehabbed, try to rehydrate, and go back in.”
Police were asking motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area of Sullivan Street, Novalea Drive, and Isleville Street.
Traffic was diverted and Halifax Transit routes 7 and 330 were operating on a detour.
There is no word on a cause at this time. Investigators arrived on scene after the fire to determine the cause of the fire. They said they would likely work into the night.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emily Baron Cadloff.
