Amherst, Truemanville firefighters fight Hickman Street fire
Amherst and Truemanville firefighters battled a structure fire on Hickman Street on Monday, July 12, 2021, that caused extensive damage to a two-storey home turned into an apartment building.
“The call came in at 5:55 p.m.,” Capt. John Matthews, Amherst Fire Department spokesman said. “When we arrived, smoke was coming from the first-floor kitchen window and the door adjacent to it, and there were signs of smoke progressing into the upper elevations of the house.”
At no time could flames be seen from outside the building.
Matthews said the house had two apartments and the five residents of those apartments all “got out safely.”
The fire forced the closure of Hickman Street, between Victoria St. W. and West Pleasant Street. Nova Scotia Power also cut the power to the building.
Firefighters – 30 from Amherst and seven from Truemanville – battled the fire from inside the home, with water and foam.
About an hour into the blaze, firefighters set up a fan at the front entrance to the home and removed several windows in order to vent the structure.
“The inside received serious burn as well as smoke and water damage,” Matthews said, adding the fire was not considered “suspicious at this time.”
Firefighters began clearing from the scene just before 8 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
