Crews demolish family home that fell into sinkhole in Falmouth, N.S.

Crews demolished a home in Falmouth, N.S., on Tuesday, four months after a sinkhole opened up beneath it, causing the structure to fall nine metres into the ground.

Chris Strickey said it was a strange experience to see the home, in which he, his wife and their two teenage daughters had spent 10 happy years, reduced to an empty lot.

"We just try and stay positive and make the best of it. It's almost surreal still."

The Strickeys still don't know what their insurance company will cover. Engineers produced a lengthy report on the collapse and the Strickeys' lawyer is discussing it with the insurance company.

"In layman's terms, as I understand it, it was a freak incident," Strickey said. He knows his neighbours were worried about similar incidents at first, but the problem seems isolated to their lot.

The house started falling into the sinkhole in the middle of the night in September. The family first thought burglars were at work and called 911. Police soon arrived and discovered the nine-metre deep sinkhole.

Neighbours took them in

Strickey said a neighbour took them in for the first few days, and then another friend lent them a cottage near New Ross. They're now renting a home in Windsor while their insurance claim works its way through the system.

They don't know when that will be, but hope it happens within months.

"Our lawyer said it's a complicated, unique situation that is moving slowly. We remain hopeful that we'll have a positive outcome," Strickey said.

"The reason you have house insurance and pay house insurance in good faith is to be covered if, God-forbid, you ever lose your home."

He said the family was able to retrieve some things three weeks after the collapse and to put them in storage, but the rest of their belonging were lost.