Fires hit Charlottetown apartments and Miscouche dairy bar

P.E.I. firefighters had a busy long weekend following two fires on the Island — one in Charlottetown and one in Miscouche.

When the Charlottetown Fire Department responded to a call around 7 a.m. Monday, there was heavy smoke coming from an apartment building on Euston Street.  

"In the apartment of origin, it's pretty extensive," said Chief Randy MacDonald. "In the other apartments, [there's] a lot of smoke damage in some and some aren't quite as bad."

MacDonald said a cat died in the fire and two people were taken to hospital with unknown injuries.

The Canadian Red Cross said at least 22 people were temporarily displaced by the fire. The organization arranged emergency lodging and meals for 20 people from 15 apartments.

'My heart dropped'

Jordan Sizer has a basement apartment in the building. 

"The smoke alarm first went off at around 7 o'clock so I got up and I was like, 'Oh yeah, it's just a fluke like maybe something up against the heater,' so I made sure all the heaters were fine ... and then I went back to bed." 

Suddenly, there was a second alarm.

"I got back up and I cracked the window," he said. 

"They were yelling for everyone to get out as soon as possible and that there was a fire. Right then and there, my heart dropped."

Sizer said it wasn't until he got outside that he saw and smelled the smoke. 

"I feel shocked, to be honest with you," he said. "I don't even know what to think."

Once the fire was extinguished, MacDonald said, tenants were taken inside to gather personal items and pets.

He said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. 

Scooter's Dairy Bar

Meanwhile, another fire is under investigation in western P.E.I.

The Miscouche Fire Department said it received a call regarding flames at Scooter's Dairy Bar around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.  

"Upon arrival, the structure was fully involved," said Chief Jason Woodbury. "By the looks of things, I believe that it will be a total loss."

Woodbury said his department reached out to Wellington and Summerside fire services for water support. He said while there were no injuries, the blaze was a challenge to put out. 

"The building was also supplied with propane which, during the fire, the propane was leaking out of the hoses," he said. "The best interest was to let the propane to continue to burn until the tanks were empty."

The department was on scene for roughly three hours, said Woodbury. 

"When it does impede on a small business, especially in a small community, it certainly will hurt the community and also the business owner," said Woodbury. 

"Hopefully it will get rebuilt and we'll continue to have a dairy bar within our community." 

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