Fire in an adjoining building has resulted in the temporary closure of the office of a veteran doctor who has delivered a lot of babies over the years.
Four crews responded to the blaze at 198 Pleasant Street in the west end of downtown just before 5:00 a.m.. That house has been destroyed but the fire also caused considerable damage to the building which houses the offices of Dr. Heidi Kravitz, a gynecologist.
A neighbour who lives down the street woke to the smell of smoke, so everyone was able to get out okay. The upper section of Pleasant between LeMarchant and Patrick remains closed.
Four crews with St. John’s Regional attacked the blaze.
Destroyed House Held Tragic History
Meanwhile, the house which was destroyed has a tale to tell.
Shirley Turner, a doctor who was charged with the murder of her former boyfriend, Andrew Bagby, in the United States, lived at 198 Pleasant before being sent to the women’s correctional centre in Clarenville.
She was released on appeal. During one of her unsupervised visits with her little boy, Zachary Turner, she walked into the ocean at Topsail Beach taking her own life and the life of little Zachary.
She never faced the murder charge.
The provincial government changed many of its policies following the murder-suicide, and restructured the department responsible for child care to the model it is today.
Pictures by Earl Noble
Earlier Story
Smoke is blanketing a downtown neighbourhood as crews from St. John’s Regional Fire Department are battling a fire this morning.
Four crews responded to the fire at 198 Pleasant Street just before 5:00 a.m.. A neighbour was awakened by the smell of smoke in their own home down the street.
The residential fire on Pleasant Streethas flared up. @VOCMNEWS @590VOCM #nltraffic pic.twitter.com/v7tE5xijFR
— Gerri Lynn Mackey (@GerriLynnMackey) February 14, 2020
Everyone has since been evacuated from the structure and fire is visible from the roof. Platoon Chief Roger Hounsell says they are now attacking hotspots with two crews inside and two more outside, but there have been challenges, mostly snow related.
He says it took some time to dig out around the back of the home to get a fire hose back there, but it’s been done. As well they needed to clear around a nearby fire hydrant, but it was all done in good time.
Platoon Chief Roger Hounsell says everyone made it out of the dwelling safely following a residential fire on Pleasant Street. He tells @VOCMNEWS the lack of wind is a relief for responders and he believes the fire is roughly 80% knocked down at this point. @590VOCM @Fred_Hutton pic.twitter.com/yjM0fcY2o6
— Gerri Lynn Mackey (@GerriLynnMackey) February 14, 2020
Pleasant Street remains closed to traffic. VOCM News is on the scene will have more as it becomes available.
