Rash of grass fires in CBRM tied up resources during Glace Bay house fire

An "epidemic" of grass fires tied up resources during a serious house fire in Glace Bay on Friday, says the local fire chief.

John Chant said a neighbouring department was on standby but within minutes was called to a grass fire near a wooded area on Emery Street. 

Fire departments in Cape Breton Regional Municipality have responded to as many as 100 grass fires in a day during one of their busiest seasons in recent memory. 

"It's just the resources being needlessly brought in for these nuisance fires that causes a lot of distraction at the bigger fires," Chant said.

The Glace Bay Volunteer Fire Department responded to the house fire call on South Street shortly after 1 p.m.

The two-storey house was engulfed in flames and the floor and roof were starting to collapse, said Chant.

He said his team considered tearing the house down because it was a safety risk for firefighters and for nearby houses.

The siding of a building about 20 metres away was melting, Chant said. 

"Right now, the building is extremely damaged inside," he said. "All you can see inside the building right now is the studding and all the contents have been destroyed. The building is definitely going to have to be torn down."

Fire marshal on scene

Cape Breton Regional Police and members of the Office of the Fire Marshal were at the scene Saturday trying to determine what caused the fire that displaced a family of seven.

The father was working out of town and four of the five children were at school when the fire started. The mother was at home with their four-year-old and went to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Chant said the woman also sustained burns to her hand and arm but he believed she has been released from hospital.

The Canadian Red Cross has put the family up in a hotel for the weekend.

Chant said even with the help of other departments, resources need to be focused on responding to serious calls like this.

Despite burn bans, he said people continue to light fires on their properties.

"When you're out cleaning your property up, you've just got to use some common sense," he said.