WINSLOE - A house fire couldn't have broken out at a worse time for the North River Fire Department.
Firefighters spent several hours Monday morning battling through the blizzard to respond to a house fire on Kentyre Road.
Even with a provincial snowplow leading the way, it took first responders more than two hours to respond to the blaze, which quickly engulfed and destroyed the home.
For homeowners, Keith and Connie Ford, the wait felt even longer.
The couple, as well as their dog Casey, managed to get shelter in one of their vans where they waited and watched their home burn.
"I'm not blaming the fire department for being so long getting there. They did everything they could to help us, it was just the weather was so bad," said Keith during an interview with The Guardian. "It's too bad but we're both alive, the dog is alive and it could have been a lot worse."
Casey had woken Keith up to take her outside at about 6 a.m.
When he came back in a few minutes later, Connie said she could smell smoke.
It was only moments after when the home's smoke detector went off.
"I said 'grab your coat and get out'," said Keith, who also grabbed the dog and their children's graduation pictures.
Everything else, including the couple's pet cat, was lost in the blaze.
"It was wild," said Keith. "It was probably the dog that helped save our lives. She's diabetic and she's blind."
However, deteriorating travel conditions not only affected everyday Islanders but also emergency services throughout Monday.
"It was one of the worst calls we could receive," said North River fire chief Kirby Wakelin during an interview with The Guardian. "It's only 10 or 15 km (away) and on a good day you could make it in five minutes… just going anywhere would have been a problem (on Monday)."
Firefighters from New Glasgow Fire Department also attempted to respond to the call, but it was ultimately too late for firefighters to save the home.
However, the crew offered a hand to the couple and took them back to the station for the day before being able to take them to a motel.
Word of the fire also spread quickly, with an online fundraising campaign raising more than $2,000 on Monday to help the couple get back on their feet.
"We're very grateful for the concern that people have expressed and the offers to have a bed and board," said Keith, who also expressed thanks to the firefighters. "We're really, really grateful for their help. They have bent over backwards to get us food, clothes and they even went and got dog food. I couldn't say enough about them."
