One person dead in house fire in northwest N.B.
Fire chief says firefighters had to retreat from inside a home in Haut-Madawaska when roof started to collapse
One person has died after a fire broke out at a residence in Haut-Madawaska in northwestern New Brunswick.
Firefighters were called to the residence on Gabourie Road at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday, and the residence was already engulfed in flames when they arrived on the scene, an official said in French.
Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire from inside the home at first because there was reason to believe someone was inside, but they had to retreat when the roof started to collapse, Marcel Daigle, fire chief for the Baker-Brook division of the local fire department, said.
Daigle said the victim was located around 6 a.m. Thursday. There were no other residents in the house.
An investigation is underway by the fire marshal.
Weather conditions in the area were good on Wednesday, but the collapse of a stone wall complicated access to the fire. Daigle said an excavator was required to finish putting it out.
With files from Nadia Gaudreau, Radio Canada