'Pretty gut-wrenching': Dominion reeling after fire kills two women
Jennifer Ludlow | CBC News | Posted: February 24, 2019 9:52 PM | Last Updated: February 24, 2019
Fire marshal's office could conclude investigation as early as Monday afternoon
Dominion is reeling after a fire claimed the lives of two women on Saturday.
The Office of the Fire Marshal could wrap up its investigation into the house fire in the Cape Breton community by Monday afternoon.
The woman, ages 83 and 51, have not been identified. It's unclear why the two women were not able to escape the home.
"It's pretty gut-wrenching, actually," said Dominion fire Chief Scott Duffney.
"Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased. But, I mean, you go up there and you know it's not going to be a good outcome when you see a fully engulfed house."
Darren Bruckschwaiger, the councillor for the area and a former firefighter, said the deaths are a tragedy that affect many in the close-knit community.
"Like most small communities, everybody knows each other," he said. "I'm hearing in the community they're feeling the effects today."
Grief counselling is being set up for first responders who attended the scene.
A release sent by the Cape Breton Regional Police on Saturday stated a man was able to get out of the fire unharmed.
However, on Sunday, police and fire officials said the man was outside when they arrived and no one can confirm if he was actually inside at any point. Police did confirm the man was a relative of at least one of the women.
Three departments on scene
Fire departments from Dominion, Reserve Mines and Glace Bay responded to the blaze. Duffney said the house was engulfed in flames when first responders arrived.
"There was involvement of the entire structure, so it was a whole lot of what we call surround and drown," he said. "We just put a lot of water on it and try to get to the point where we can get in the building to start doing some search and some overhaul."
The fire destroyed the house and caused the roof to collapse. Duffney said it took two hours to contain the fire and another three hours to ensure there were no hot spots.