'Very difficult' fire reignites, destroys Kings County home

No one was hurt when a fire that firefighters thought they had put out earlier in the evening reignited overnight and destroyed a home north of Centreville, N.S.

Fire crews were called to a report of a chimney fire shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 500-block of West Halls Harbour Road. When they arrived, there were flames throughout the new home's cathedral ceiling and attic area.

"It was a very, very difficult fire to fight because the fire was attacked from the inside. The crews were elevating ladders inside the building some 15 or 16 feet to access the top of the ceiling," said Kentville fire Chief Brian Desloges, whose department was one of a number that responded.

Desloges said his crews left around midnight when it appeared the fire had been contained. Kentville and other nearby fire departments were then called back at around 4 a.m. after the fire reignited, engulfing the whole house.

Desloges said the freezing temperatures overnight made for a cold night for firefighters. 

"Last night was around -7 to -12. There was a slight wind coming off the bay and so it was very, very cold on both fronts," he said.

"There wasn't anything in the way of anything freezing or seizing up because of the ice and that sort of thing, but because of the wind and the low, low temperatures windchill was a factor."

Desloges said the area where the fire happened is pretty rural so fire crews had to dig out the water source near the home. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.