The St. John’s Regional Fire Department was kept busy yesterday as the result of two major fires in the capital city region.
The first destroyed a home and caused serious damage to a NL Housing unit containing four apartments in the Lime and Livingstone Street area of the capital city’s downtown.
A number of people were displaced by the fire, but there were no injuries. NL Housing says their thoughts are with the three families directly affected by the fire, two of whom are NLHC tenants.
One of the NLHC families has been placed in an NLHC unit which is used for emergencies like yesterday’s fire, while the other tenant has been placed in a hotel by the Canadian Red Cross while NL Housing tries to find a new permanent placement for them.
Akita Equipment Fire
(Submitted Photo)
Meanwhile, fire caused significant damage to Akita Equipment in the old Islander RV building on the Trans Canada near Paddy’s Pond. Luckily, damage was contained to the front of the building in the area that was once used as a showroom.
Akita Equipment business owner Chris Howlett says he’s had better days, but all their staff are safe and that’s all that matters.
He says the best news is that their staff managed to escape without injury. Now they’re trying to get to the bottom of what caused the fire and getting their operations back to normal.
Roger Hounsell SJRFD – VOCM Photo
Deputy Chief with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, Roger Hounsell admits its unusual to be called to two major fires in quick succession. He commends his crews for their hard work.
“I can’t say it enough this week how good our crews have worked and the effort they put in to not let any of the fires spread further than what they did.”
