WEST DEVON, P.E.I. - Two people were left homeless following a bungalow fire Tuesday morning along the highway near West Devon.
O’Leary Volunteer Fire Department answered the call just before 12:30 a.m. with all five of its trucks, but fire chief Ronnie Phillips said the structure was already too far gone to save when they arrived around 12:30 a.m. West Point Fire Department also responded with two trucks.
Phillips said about 35 firefighters responded.
Phillips, who arrived on the second truck, said his deputy chief told him the house was fully engulfed and flames were coming out through the roof when the first truck rolled onto the scene.
It is the second house to burn at that location in about 20 years.
The occupants, Phillips said, escaped with only the clothes they were wearing.
The Canadian Red Cross is helping the two adults.
“The pair, who are staying temporarily in a trailer nearby, was too distraught to meet with Red Cross volunteers immediately after the fire,” said Dan Bedell , Atlantic communications director for the Red Cross.
Eventually, a team did meet with them Wednesday to provide support, including emergency purchases of clothing, food, personal-care items and other essentials.
Neither was injured in the fire, though the O'Leary Fire Department says a couple of pets perished in the blaze, said the Red Cross.
Firefighters hit the fire hard and quickly brought it under control with just one tanker of water. By that time, however, the roof had already collapsed, and two of the exterior walls were gone.
“With that wind, we didn’t have a chance in heck,” said the fire chief, noting the wind was blowing 50 to 60 kilometres per hour. They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other exposures.
An investigator from the Provincial Fire Marshall’s office was in attendance prior to firefighters departing the scene at 5:30 a.m. The cause of the fire still hasn’t been determined.
