Fire destroys family home near Yarmouth during snowstorm
No injuries to couple and 4 children but 'house was pretty much a total loss,' says platoon chief
A family of six lost their home after a fire broke out during Friday night's snowstorm.
Their house on Hardscratch Road in Brooklyn, N.S., just north of Yarmouth, was destroyed by fire, said Guy Muise, a platoon chief with the Yarmouth Fire Department.
The house was fully engulfed with flames coming out the windows when firefighters arrived, Muise said. The team had to call for help from four other departments.
"The house was pretty much a total loss," Muise said. "It was pretty much burnt up. There was a lot of stuff inside that caught fire."
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Family 'got out without anything'
Neither the couple nor their four children were injured, he said.
"The homeowners pretty much got out without anything," Muise said.
The family is staying with relatives. The Canadian Red Cross helped them buy emergency clothing and food, a release issued Saturday said.
Tablet charging cord may be cause
Flames came from an outlet "where an extension cord was plugged in, charging one of those tablets," Muise said.
The roads were slippery with snow, ice and slush, so firefighters drove with "extreme caution," he said.
They responded to the blaze around 6:40 p.m. and stayed at the scene nearly four hours.