HALIFAX -- A woman is in hospital and several families are temporarily homeless after a fire damaged several homes in the Halifax community of Mulgrave Park.
Emergency crews were called to the fire in the 3200 block of Barrington Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“On arrival they encountered a working fire in one unit of a townhouse … the crews did a great job pushing quickly to get in there and knock that fire down,” said Dave Meldrum, the deputy chief of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency.
“The fire did extend to the back of the building and up into the roof area.”
The fire was considered under control Tuesday morning, but crews were still working to contain hot spots in the attic.
One woman was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation as a result of the fire.
No one else was injured.
Around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, police issued a release saying fire investigators believe the fire was intentionally set.
Community activists DeRico Symonds, Trayvone Clayton and Kate MacDonald have started a GoFundMe page to help the families affected by the fire in Mulgrave Park.
“Four amazing families lost everything in a fire. One of the families has young children. Everyone is physically safe but they now have the stress of starting from scratch and rebuilding their lives,” they said in a statement on the fundraising page.
“Money will not solve everything but it will provide a financial and morale boost and aid these families in getting their life back on track.”
Meanwhile, police say their investigation is in its early stages. Investigators with the Integrated Criminal Investigation Division are asking anyone with information concerning the incident to call 902-490-5020 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
More than $11,000 had been raised as of 1:15 p.m. Tuesday.
