‘I could hear him crying’

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This article was published 13/03/2016 (3692 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One firefighter suffered minor injuries Sunday fighting a blaze that destroyed a home in Charleswood and left a family of five homeless.

“We had one member with a potentially strained wrist,” Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service platoon chief Tom Piche said.

“The cause of the fire is unknown and as soon as it’s contained, we’ll put our arson investigators inside,” he said.

“It’s a total loss,” he added, estimating damage at more than half a million dollars.

Shortly after 1 p.m., firefighters were called to the blaze at the two-storey home on Matlock Crescent, in a middle-class neighbourhood where homes sell for more than $500,000.

Nobody but the family dog and cat were inside at the time, said owner Kevin Hamm, who discovered the fire as he arrived home after lunch and remained on the scene with the rest of his family who watched the fire destroy their home and everything in it.

“This is absolutely unbelievable,” Hamm said, turning to greet the neighbour who’d taken in the dog. “You’re looking at your house,” he told his friend, shaking his head. “And there are no windows, no roof.”

The dog, a springer spaniel named Tucker, was rescued from the burning house by firefighters.

Hamm said he’s grateful to them. He said the cat probably died.

Hamm was sitting in his car, wearing the only clothes he had left, a pair of pyjamas and a light jacket, as his wife stood to the side, staring at the home as she spoke to fire investigators.

The street was clogged with fire hoses and more than half a dozen fire trucks and various emergency vehicles. No other homes appeared damaged and other than the firefighter, no one was reported injured.

“I opened the front door and I immediately knew there was a problem,” Hamm said describing the thick heavy smoke that poured out as he tried to get into his home before firefighters arrived.

“You had to back up 10 feet just to breathe,” he said.

Hamm recounted how he ran around to the back of the home for another way inside, found the patio door unlocked and tried to get in the house but he said that again the smoke pushed him back.

That’s when he heard the dog.

“I could hear him crying, yelping,” Hamm said. “And I couldn’t get to him because of the smoke that was pouring out.”

Firefighters arrived within minutes. One of the first things they did was rescue the dog, sending a firefighter in with a respirator, as Hamm, his wife and their neighbours watched anxiously.

“It was pretty emotional when they got the dog out, super cool. Everyone was in tears. The dog was happy. He was jumping and licking and running around,” neighbour Shane Piche said.

The neighbour said he and his daughter were the first to spot the smoke, when they rounded the crescent on their bicycles, seconds before the owner pulled into the driveway.

They got the neighbours next to the house safely out of their home.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca