Fire chief cautions onlookers after crews impeded from house fire scene in Stratford

The chief of the Cross Roads Fire Department is reminding Islanders to be aware around fire scenes after firefighters were impeded from getting to a house fire on Friday in Stratford.

The Cross Roads department, along with Vernon River and Charlottetown departments, responded to the fire on Harvest Drive at around 8:50 p.m. The house was destroyed but the occupants escaped uninjured.

Greg McCormick said first responders encountered a large crowd of onlookers at the scene.

"The volume of traffic and the volume of people did create some impediments for the fire apparatus to get through," he said.

"And in some cases we actually had reports that some of our hoses were driven over by cars, kind of exiting out of the area." 

He said he wants to remind Islanders to keep their distance while firefighters respond.

"These sort of calls are very, very intense," he said.

"We would ask that if they are going to kind of travel up there, be aware that there's fire apparatus going back and forth, and park out of the way, or better yet just don't go up there at all. Stay well back and observe what you can from a distance. Just let us do our job."

Investigation underway

He said answering a fire call is difficult enough without added complications.

McCormick said the house was "heavily involved in fire" when crews arrived.

He said several tankers, a rescue truck and support were called in from the Vernon River and the Charlottetown fire departments. One crew had an aerial device.

"Crews were on scene until about 1 a.m. just dealing with hotspots, and we did end up going back this morning around 6:30 to deal with a rekindle," he said.

He believes the occupants of the home had family and friends to stay with for the night.

McCormick said neighbours were affected by heat and smoke, though they were able to return to their homes.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal's office.