Woman, three children rushed to hospital after Moncton house fire

A mother and her three children were taken to hospital Monday morning after a fire at a home in downtown Moncton, N.B.

The Moncton Fire Department was called to the three-unit apartment on Bonaccord Street just after 7 a.m.

Platoon Chief Brian McDonald said firefighters learned people were trapped inside the two-storey home when they received the call.

“Very quickly, we found four people who were trapped and unconscious in the home,” said McDonald.

He told CTV News a woman and her three children were rushed to hospital by ambulance. They are in serious condition, according to the Codiac Regional RCMP.

McDonald said all three children are under the age of five. A fifth person, a man, tried to rescue all four of them from the rear unit of the building, which was heavily damaged by smoke and heat.

There are three apartments in total in the building, said McDonald -- two on the main floor and one upstairs. He said the other tenants managed to evacuate safely and were outside when firefighters arrived.

Tenant Tanika Boudreau says the smell of smoke woke her up.

“I knew that there was something wrong. I went to go to the back neighbour’s door and I banged on the door two or three times really hard,” said Boudreau.

“It took a while, I could hear noises inside, and he came to the door, the back neighbour, the father, it was just smoke billowing, rolling out.”

Boudreau said she then called 911.

“It’s scary and sad. But I know we both hope they are OK. I’m worried about the kids. We saw the kids being carried out,” said Boudreau.

Two cats were found on the main floor and sent to a nearby animal hospital. A third cat has yet to be located.

Four of the five fire stations in Moncton responded to the blaze.

McDonald said firefighters had to remove the bedroom door to get to the people who were trapped inside.

“These fires are difficult. They’re challenging for us,” he said. “They don’t happen every day. The firefighting part of it is more routine, but when we know there’s people trapped and lives are at risk, it certainly adds a real, other element to firefighting.”

Seven people have been displaced by the fire. The Canadian Red Cross says volunteers have arranged for emergency lodging and purchases to help two women who were living in the two apartments damaged by smoke and water.

The organization says help will also be offered to the five residents of the third apartment, including the woman and her three children.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. But police say they do not believe, at this time, it was suspicious.