Fire destroys home, kills pets

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com



Fire has destroyed the Alexander Drive home of Windsor Daycare director Pat Post. There were no injuries to residents or firefighters, but eight cats belonging to Post perished in the Jan. 17 blaze.

“I’m more concerned about my cats than the house,� said Post, who spent time today searching for the four cats believed to have survived. Neighbours reported sighting the animals and left food out for them.

Kim Cole, an Alexander Drive resident, said her dog alerted her to the fire. “He was going foolish, which he does when there’s something going on outside.�

She said she looked out her window and saw the flames. “I called 911 and my husband went rushing outside and found Pat standing in the yard.�

Post had arrived home shortly after 7 p.m. that evening to find her kitchen engulfed in smoke.

“As soon as I opened the door, I could see the house was full of smoke. It was rancid and I could hear the kittens crying.�

She said she told the animals she would be coming for them, but the flames started in an instant. “There was just no way I could get to them,� she said.



‘Way worse’

Post’s daughter Lisa was shocked when she and her mother saw the home for the first time after the fire. “It’s way worse than I thought,� she said. “I thought it was just the kitchen that was burned, but it’s everything.�

Post said she was told some rooms at the back of the house received less damage and may be salvageable.

Fire Chief Fred Fox reported the house was fully involved and venting from several windows when firefighters arrived on the scene. He said the Windsor Department received mutual aid from Brooklyn and Hantsport and “mounted an aggressive defense attack� to prevent further damage to the home and to ensure the fire didn’t spread to adjacent properties.

The temperature at the time of the fire was -18C, which Fox says caused several cold weather conditions for firefighters to deal with. The cause of the blaze was reported as accidental, originating from combustibles stored too close to the woodstove.

One of the four missing cats has been found and taken to stay with family. Post will continue to search for the remaining three as she picks through the pieces left behind after the fire.