'Not your normal day': Saint John firefighters battle four fires in 24 hours

Saint John firefighters are hoping for a well-deserved rest after battling four fires in less that 24 hours this weekend.

"Four back to back fires, three of them severe in nature, that's not your normal day," said Saint John Fire Department Platoon Chief Brian Wilson.

The Canadian Red Cross said it is providing assistance to at least 10 people displaced by the fires.

The most severe fire, Wilson said, happened at a one-and-a-half storey home on River Avenue on Sunday at around 1 a.m. Two adults and two children were asleep in the burning home when Saint John Police officers first arrived on scene.

Four back to back fires, three of them severe in nature, that's not your normal day.- Saint John Fire Department Platoon Chief Brian Wilson

"They beat on the doors and and awakened the folks and got them and their kids out of there and would be largely responsible for there not being a tragedy here," Wilson said.

Some family pets died in the fire, Wilson said. He said it's unlikely the home can be salvaged.

The first of the four fires happened Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at a two-storey home onHillcrest Road. The fire was contained mostly to the basement but electricity had to be disconnected. Two adults and a three-year-old child have been displaced, the Red Cross said.

Saturday night, firefighters responded to a structure fire on Charlotte Street. Two people were forced out, including a woman treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation.

Not done yet

Not long after firefighters extinguished the early morning fire on River Avenue, they were called out again at around 7 a.m. to a fire on Exmouth Street.

The kitchen fire caused extensive damage to an upstairs apartment of a two-storey house. A man was sent to hospital for smoke inhalation, the Red Cross said.

The fires are all under investigation, Wilson said, but none have been deemed suspicious.

He's hoping things quiet down a little now.

"This is an unusually busy time for any fire department, anywhere in the country."