Couple thankful to escape blaze
A New Tusket couple are thankful to be alive today after an early morning blaze destroyed their home.
Homeowner Hazen Prime said he woke up shortly before 3 a.m. this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 9, and thought he saw a light on.
“When I got up I saw smoke at the other end of the house,” said Prime. “At first all I saw was smoke but within a few minutes I could see the flames.”
Smoke detectors also alerted the couple although they were already awake.
Prime said he and his wife Cindy rushed into the office close to their bedroom and were able to save most of the paper work.
“We were able to get everything out of the office that I needed to continue to run my business,” Prime said. “A neighbour came to help but we weren’t able to save anything else. We had to get out because of the flames.”
Prime said they lost everything including two cats that were at the end of the house where the fire started.
“We couldn’t save two of our cats but we were able to save two other cats and our dog,” Prime said. “The home we built nearly 30 years ago and raised our family in is gone but we have so much to be thankful for.”
Havelock Fire Department got the call at 3:05 a.m. and when they arrived on scene flames were coming out of the roof.
“By the time we began attacking the blaze the fire had spread to the rest of the house,” Fire Chief Alfred LeBlanc said.
Fire departments from Southville, Weymouth, Plympton, St. Bernard, Little Brook and Meteghan responded to the mutual aid call.
Firefighters remained at the scene until after 11 a.m. and members of the Havelock Fire Department returned in the early afternoon to douse a few hotspots.
Fire Chief LeBlanc said the cause of the fire was undetermined at the time.
