Man dies after Wolfville fire

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

A Wolfville man is dead following a Highland Avenue apartment fire Dec. 6.

The 36-year-old man was removed unconscious from his bedroom in the three-unit converted home by firefighters. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

RCMP in Wolfville say John Patrick Jordan, originally of Avonport, died as a result of smoke inhalation.

Wolfville Fire Chief Tim McLeod said his department responded to the call at 10:20 a.m. Saturday, coming in as an apartment building on fire. Upon arrival, firefighters found the fire confined to one room in the victim’s apartment. A bed was on fire.

EHS responded with the fire department and RCMP were called in as well on a requirement to begin an investigation into the fatality. Hantsport firefighters provided mutual aid stand-in support at the Wolfville station, as the town firefighters were on-scene for an hour or so involved with the fire itself then a number of hours afterward as the investigation got underway.

The fire marshal also visited the scene and, McLeod said Dec. 8, will rule the fire accidental, probably due to “careless use of smoking materials.”

Wolfville firefighters will meet with a critical incident stress debriefing team to discuss the call. ‘We want to make sure our people are well looked after,” McLeod said. “I can’t remember a fire-related death in town for over 35 years, and we’ve had just two others outside town: one 30 years ago and the other 15 years ago. A death from a motor vehicle accident call is an entirely different scene.”