Herring Cove family escapes house fire by jumping from back deck

A family of four escaped a fire at their Herring Cove, N.S., home early Friday by jumping from the back deck.

Firefighters were called to Tribune Court around 4 a.m.

When crews arrived the house was covered in flames, said Scott Shaffner, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency's district chief.

"Because of that, it was initially a defensive fire, meaning there was too much fire to send crews inside, so we fought it from the exterior," he said. 

The family living in the home, including two adults and two young children, managed to escape uninjured.

"The occupants were home at the time and they made a jump off a rather high deck on the back of the house to escape the fire. It took off rather quickly."

Embers were blown onto properties on a neighbouring street and started other smaller fires. 

"We had a couple of little spot fires, one in particular on the next street down that we had to send crews to as well," said Shaffner. "But those were contained."

The cause of the fire hasn't been determined.

Firefighters remained on scene as of 8 a.m. Friday.