Four children including at least one infant died early Sunday in a house fire near Yarmouth, N.S., sources say.
Emergency crews were called to the scene of the fire in Pubnico Head shortly after midnight.
Ervin Olsen told The Canadian Press that two of his great-grandchildren died but he gave no further details, saying the losses were too "fresh." Multiple sources told CTV Atlantic four children died.
Red Cross spokesperson Melanie MacDonald said four children lived in the home including an infant who died. She said a man is being treated in hospital.
Authorities said two individuals escaped the blaze alive. One was taken to hospital.
Gordon Amiro, Chief of the West Pubnico Fire Department, said that the house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived early on Monday morning and that the cold weather caused hoses to freeze up.
“We also had two of our trucks (freeze),” he added. “We had to take them into (the) hall and get them thawed out.”
The remains of the house were knocked down Sunday while RCMP investigate. Officials say the fire is not considered suspicious.
Cpl. Jennifer Clarke called the incident a “horrible, horrible tragedy for anyone to experience.”
Kathy Bourque, a municipal councillor in Pubnico Head, said the deaths are having a devastating impact on the small community.
“Everybody here knows everybody,” she said in an interview. “When a tragic thing like this hits, it hits everybody.”
With files from CTV Atlantic and The Canadian Press
