Rural Cape Breton community members frustrated after two homes destroyed by fire

People in Benacadie, N.S., are dealing with a recent wave of crime.

Shamus MacDonald is still shaken up after a place he called home was destroyed during an apparent crime spree in Benacadie, N.S., on January 3.

“At least five places were broken into,” MacDonald told CTV Atlantic on Friday. “Two were burned to the ground and this was one of them.”

MacDonald said the home he lost was an old farmhouse built by his great-grandfather more than 100 years ago – adding he lived there between May and November of each year with his wife and two children.

“Devastated,” MacDonald said. “The whole family has been devastated by this. We have two boys who are feeling confused and at a great loss.”

The same morning, a trailer just down the Benacadie Glen Road also burned to the ground.

“I had my brother check his security system, and he saw my neighbour’s property below me explode,” said Rod Farrell, who lives in the area.

Investigators say no one was inside at the time. Neighbours told CTV Atlantic the man who owned the trailer was inside when his bungalow - on the same property - was set on fire in July 2024.

Farrell said he wants more police patrols in the area.

“Yours could be next,” he said. “Every time you go away, you don’t know what’s waiting for you when you come back. It’s very, very upsetting.”

Even though Benacadie is a rural area it still falls under the jurisdiction of the Cape Breton Regional Police, who say they are investigating the arsons and looking for tips from the public.

In an email to CTV Atlantic on Friday, Cape Breton Regional Police confirmed they are investigating the two fires along with the break-ins. Since 2015, police say their records show there have been 19 reported incidents of break-and-enter in the area along with four reported structure fires.

The force added they continue to make extra patrols in the area.

MacDonald his house was not insured and it’s too soon to know whether they might rebuild.

“The fact of the matter is that if we had a million dollars worth of insurance, it wouldn’t replace what we lost in terms of family connections, sense of security,” MacDonald said.

Police said the cause of these fires has not yet been determined.

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