Shortly before 1PM on Sunday afternoon, Kingston Firefighters were alerted of a mobile home on fire in Greenwood.
This prompted automatic mutual aid from Middleton, Aylesford & Nictaux fire departments to assist.
Prior to the fire departments arrival, reports indicated that the structure was fully involved and everyone was able to safely evacuate.
“We had a truck out the door in less than three minutes. When our first engine arrived, they were faced with heavy fire on the back portion of the structure,” stated Bryan Tremblett, Captain with the Kingston Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived to a working fire, with flames showing from the back of the home. The fire had also spread to the grass and was burning towards two adjacent structures on either side of the home involved.
Crews made a quick attack putting out flames that were infringing on the two structures. Tremblett reported that the fire made it 5 feet from one of the other structures when they had arrived.
Despite a quick knock down on the mobile home, it had spread to the tight attic space, burning through the roof and making it tricky to extinguish.
“It made it very difficult to gain access to the attic space. We deemed the roof wasn’t structurally sound enough to put firefighters on to ventilate the structure,” Captain Tremblett explained.
The reason for firefighters cutting holes in roofs is to help with firefighting efforts. By doing this, it releases the heat and gases that are feeding the fire.
With a tight attic space, the fire doesn’t have enough oxygen to breath, by cutting holes, the fire is able to breath. If done correctly, it gives firefighters the chance to knock down additional hot spots without spreading further.
Crews made ventilation cuts in areas to help with the effort, but the fire had spread across the attic of the mobile home, resulting in firefighters chasing hotspots for several hours.
Eventually, crews were able to safely get inside the home after the bulk of the fire was out and battle the fire from below.
Additional crews from 14 Wing Greenwood Fire Service were also called and assisted on site as firefighters were cycling through their air bottles steadily.
Three firefighters were assessed by EHS Paramedics, with one firefighter suffering from a minor injury. All were released on scene and did not require transport to hospital. There were no further injuries reported.
Kings District RCMP assisted with shutting down traffic to the area during the fire.
The Canadian Military Police, Nova Scotia Power & The County of Kings public works all attended the scene.
Berwick Firefighters also assisted with stand by coverage at the Kingston Fire station during the incident.
Captain Tremblett stated the fire is currently under investigation.
Great work by all firefighters and agencies involved.
Adrian J.
