Justin Samanski-Langille

'The window blew up beside her': Mom crawls out of burning home

HAMPTON – A son is thanking the community and first responders after his mother barely escaped her burning home Thursday night.

Jeremy Salgado said his mother Sally was relaxing in her Dann Drive living room when a calm night suddenly turned chaotic.

"It was 8:30 p.m. or so and she was just sitting in the living room when the window blew up beside her," said Salgado. "She looked out the patio door and the whole back wall of the house was on fire. She called 911 and thought she might just be able to take a fire extinguisher and clear it herself, but she realized it was a massive fire.

"The smoke was starting to fill the house, so she essentially crawled out of the house with just the clothes on her back."

Salgado's adult sister Erika also lives in the home, but he said she was at a friend's house at the time of the fire. No one was injured in the blaze.

His mother is doing "as good as she can be doing," said Salgado, and the family is spending today purchasing essentials to replace what was lost in the blaze.

He said the first thing that went through his mind when learning of the fire was if Mom was in the house.

"It was a big relief when I saw her in the driveway when I arrived at the house as it was burning to the ground. As long as my mom and my sister were out, everything was alright. Everything else can be replaced."

Flames as high as treetops

Hampton Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Mike Raeburn said crews from Hampton and the neighbouring departments of Nauwigewauk, Kennebeccasis Valley, Norton and Belleisle Valley responded to the fire.

"When we rolled in, the house was fully involved, and we were on scene until 4 a.m.," said Raeburn from the scene Friday morning.

"It was a huge fire, it was very significant," he added. "The challenge was walking through the snow with that crust on it ... it was a tough one, and the building wasn't savable by any means, so we focused on controlling it and not letting it spread to the neighbours."

Neighbour Ben Carr said the first sign something was wrong Thursday night was the sound of sirens on what is normally a very quiet street.

"Then we noticed a glow coming from the next house and in a matter of five minutes, the flames became quite visible and the first fire truck pulled up," said Carr. "The flames were about as high as the trees ... it was pretty shocking looking at my neighbours house which has been there my whole life engulfed in flames."

Deputy Mayor Bob "Dewey" Doucet said he knows the Salgado family well and was shocked to hear what had happened to Sally.

"We were worried about them and whether they had gotten out safe. I had texted [Sally] and never got an answer. Later on I got a call saying they were OK, but it was scary," said Doucet. "Everybody in town feels horrible about it.

Doucet said the fact the family has already gone through the loss of Dr. David Salgado, who died in 2015, makes the fire even more tragic, as many memories of him were likely lost.

"They are wonderful people, and I know the community will surround them with love and support. They are well-loved in the community," he said.

Support has been 'unbelievable'

On Friday morning, the home appeared completely gutted, with broken windows and heavy scorch marks around the edges of what used to be a roof. 

A Hampton Fire-Rescue truck and several firefighters were on the scene picking through still-smouldering rubble as a works department excavator pulled apart the remains of the structure.

Raeburn said the fire remains under investigation, but it is not considered suspicious at this time.

Since news of the fire spread in the close-knit town, Salgado said the community has been overwhelmingly supportive of his mother and his whole family.

"I can't say enough about the Town of Hampton. The support the people in our town have been giving us is just unbelievable," said Salgado. "That's why we love it here."

Another family displaced by fire

The Red Cross says it is providing assistance to three people displaced by a house fire on Viola Avenue in Hampton. 

"Canadian Red Cross volunteers are helping a couple and their adult son with emergency lodging and financial support for meals, winter clothing purchases and some other essentials," said spokesperson Dan Bedell. 

According to the Hampton fire chief, crews responded to a house fire on Viola Avenue around 10 p.m. on Friday, the second fire a little more than 24 hours. 

Roger Breau said at least 30 firefighters were on scene, including mutual aid from Nauwigewauk Fire Department. 

The home was engulfed in flames when teams arrived, according to Breau. 

"The house was a total loss. It was through the roof when we got there," he said by phone on Saturday. 

No injuries were reported, Breau said. The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. 

- With files from Nathalie Sturgeon