St. Norbert blaze forces 2 families to flee homes

Firefighters battle the blaze on Payment Street in St. Norbert on Nov. 26, 2014.

Firefighters arrived on scene Wednesday to find a home in St. Norbert engulfed in flames.

Crews were dispatched just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 26.

It appears the fire originated in a garage of a home on Payment Street.

The sound of an explosion woke people living on the street.

Ken Wilson lives across the street. He said he heard muffled explosion just before 5 a.m.

“I looked out the front window, and just a massive ball of flame coming out the home just across the way,” said Wilson.

There is speculation that a car was plugged in inside the garage of the first home.

Platoon Chief Frank Leswick said one of the houses was completely destroyed, and spread to a second house.

"The flames were so intense that they spread to (74) Payment, and got into the attic there,” said Leswick. “We put up an aerial - we went defensive. We knocked down the fire that was on the roof.”

The fire started at 78 Payment Street and also caused minor heat damage to 72 Payment.

People made it out of all the homes safely.

The family from the home that was completely destroyed has two young children and had only been living in the neighbourhood for a couple years.

With the wind chill, temperatures fell well below -30 Wednesday morning.

The fire department said fighting flames with temperatures so far below zero is always hard because it creates icy conditions and a slippery ground.

Crews responded from 13 different fire stations around the city.

Ben Fowler who lives at the second, badly damaged home said he can’t thank firefighters enough.

“They were excellent. They saved those (family) pictures, and that means a whole bunch to the whole family. What they did was amazing,” said Fowler.

Fowler said his parents woke up to a loud bang. There was orange everywhere in their bedroom, which is now destroyed.

As the parents woke up each of their four kids, they called 911.

“They said, 'Let’s get out,' and we literally just got out with our shorts, our t-shirts,” said Fowler.

He said neighbours have helped non-stop since the early morning hours.

“People I haven’t even talked to in years, even I haven’t even met, running over giving us blankets, offering us to come in to their homes.

“We have a really strong community here in St. Norbert,” he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

- with a report from Cheryl Holmes