Woman and pets rescued from flooded Hantsport home

A 32-year-old woman and her cat and dog were rescued from a flooded home in Hantsport, N.S., on Friday.

RCMP, firefighters and EHS were called to Bishopville Road shortly after 2 p.m. AT.

Paul Maynard, deputy fire chief with the Hantsport Fire Department, said when firefighters arrived, they saw the house was completely surrounded by about a metre of water.

"The Halfway River had come up rapidly," Maynard said.

Maynard said three firefighters put on water rescue suits — suits that keep firefighters dry — and got to the home to check on the woman. A water rescue team also showed up with boats.

How the rescue was carried out

The woman was able to put on a rescue suit and walk out of the home, Maynard said.

"We had to carry [the cat and dog] out, the cat was in a kennel and ... one of the firefighters carried the dog to safety," Maynard said.

"The river was continuing to come up so we had to act quickly but we did have time to make sure things were safe and stable."

The rescue took about 45 minutes.

"We do flood calls and flooded basements and power-related issues with storms, but I can't think of a time in the immediate past when we had to rescue somebody from their own home due to a flood," Maynard said.

The extent of the damage to the house is unclear.

"The house isn't in danger of washing away or anything, but she's definitely going to have some cleaning up to do when the water goes down again," Maynard said.