Firefighters thanked for saving home
Spectacular blaze lights up the night sky, destroying waterfront structure
PICTOU, N.S. – Kimo Poirier has nothing but praise for firefighters who saved his home.
Poirier lives on Creighton Street in Pictou. A side wall of his home sits less than 35 feet from the edge of a pile of rubble. It was left after a fire destroyed a building on March 19.
“They were keeping my house wet, so it never got burnt,” said Poireir, who is well known in Pictou.
“I lost a boat but it could have been worse; the firefighters did a heckuva job. Nobody got hurt. Just the loss of an old building, but they can replace that.”
Around 10 p.m. Thursday, firefighters were called to the Washtub Laundromat building, which also housed an envirodepot refund recycling centre.
Locals estimated the building was around 70 years old.
With the blaze spreading, firefighters from as many as five departments did battle for several hours, as the fire lit up the Pictou waterfront and prompted evacuation of a nearby seniors complex.
Canadian Red Cross volunteers from New Glasgow arranged emergency lodging for two men and one woman.
Owners of the restaurant Sharon’s Place – closed due to the COVID-19 virus – provided hot beverages and sandwiches for firefighters and those affected by the fire.
Connie MacPhee had been managing the recycling depot for three years.
“Hopefully I can get my papers and be able to get unemployment. Other than that, I don’t know,” she said on Friday morning.
MacPhee and her husband, Roddie, were home asleep when the fire broke out.
“My neighbor came pounding at our door and she said ‘Connie, your workplace is on fire,’” she said. “We got up and got dressed and came outside. We were here until two o’clock in the morning. It was just unbelievable.
“It was very scary and I don’t know what we’re gonna do. Now I’m unemployed. It’s gonna be rough for us for a while.”