Firefighters are investigating what caused a fire that destroyed&nbsp;a house&nbsp;in a rural area southeast of Amherst early Friday morning.

They were called to the property on Pumping Station Road in Brookdale at around 5:15 a.m. and found the house engulfed in flames.

"When the alarm came in, we were told everyone was out of the house,"&nbsp;Fire Chief Greg Jones said in a news release. "When we arrived on scene that was confirmed. No one was injured."

It took more than 90 minutes to put out the flames, the release said.

New study shares insight into 2009 death of Toronto woman in Cape Breton coyote attack

Stanley Gehrt, lead author of a paper recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, said that with the park's coyotes preying on large animals like moose, it stands to reason they would be less inhibited about killing a human.

A coyote walks toward the camera in a meadow-like area. 

A cyclist was bitten on the arm by a coyote, similar to the one seen in this stock photo, while on the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Wednesday.

Coyote

A coyote is seen in this stock photo. Researcher Stanley Gehrt says coyotes in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park were used to eating a diet of moose when Taylor Mitchell was attacked during a hike on the Skyline trail.

Flooded food bank gets a lift from dozens of volunteers who showed up to help

At one of the busiest times of year, Linda MacRae walked into the Glace Bay Food Bank and found boxes of food surrounded by water. The charity suffered a flood this week that damaged hundreds of dollars worth of donated food.

A small room is filled with boxes and boxes of food at a Nova Scotia food bank.

Glace Bay Food Bank

Volunteer at the Glace Bay Food Bank were busy Thursday moving the salvageable food upstairs.

Are sober parties a thing of the future? Some Nova Scotians say yes

People in Nova Scotia are hosting sober parties while more people become interested in the idea of sobriety.

 People threw a sober party last weekend at the Sydney Curling Club to support sobriety, over one hundred people came through the door. 

Sober party in Sydney

More than 100 people attended a sober party last weekend at the Sydney Curling Club in Cape Breton. 

CBRM staff member files harassment complaint against several councillors

Several Cape Breton regional councillors are under investigation after a municipal staff member filed a harassment complaint.

A woman with a candy-cane-print blouse and glasses on her head holds a coffee cup.

Coun. Earlene MacMullin says there is still a large contingent of voters in CBRM who prefer to use paper ballots in elections and allowing that as an option increases voter turnout.

CBRM Coun. Earlene MacMullin

Coun. Earlene MacMullin says she is one of four councillors under investigation following a harassment complaint by a Cape Breton Regional Municipality staff member.

Dr. Strang urges caution during holiday season as flu season hits early

Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health is urging Nova Scotians to take precautions as virus levels spike.

Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, has said the high-dose vaccine is more effective, but the standard dose should be a good match for the strain of flu in the province now.

Dr. Robert Strang

Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, urged Nova Scotians to take precautions at social gatherings during the holidays.

Firefighter sprays water on a housefire on Pumping Station Road in Brookdale near Amherst before dawn on Friday.  

Firefighters investigating after blaze engulfs home near Amherst

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