'Crawled on my hands and knees': Port Hardy residents tackle apartment fire
A Port Hardy, B.C., man is being credited on social media with helping extinguish a fire inside an apartment complex on Highland Drive early Tuesday morning.
Adam Nelson believes alarms in the Old Horizon apartment complex started sounding around 3 a.m. as he was in his room with his girlfriend. He initially believed somebody was messing with the alarm system.
"Next thing I know I hear somebody banging at our door and trying to open the door and banging like crazy, so we both got up and ran to the door," he told CTV News.
"One of our neighbours downstairs said there was an actual fire," Nelson said.
"She ran towards the fire hose in the hallway so I ran out there with her to go get it and get it set up."
The pair extended the hose to the stairwell where Nelson encountered thick smoke.
"By the time I got inside the stairwell on the third floor the whole upstairs of the fourth floor stairwell was full of black smoke and I’d seen a bit of the flame," he said. "I tried to get the water towards the fire."
The effort proved difficult because the hose was kinked, but the two straightened it out before he went to see if anyone was trapped in the stairwell.
"I crawled on my hands and knees to see if anyone was there," he said. "I felt around, I didn’t feel anything and I went back downstairs."
"Once I got the fire out all the smoke started moving everywhere and I got soaked and ended up running out of there," he said.
Nelson says he doesn’t believe anyone was injured in the blaze but he’ll be heading to a medical clinic today to see if he suffered any effects from the smoke.
He believes one or two people may have been temporarily relocated because of smoke damage.
CTV News has reached out to the Port Hardy Fire Department for details.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
Lack of detention space could force CBSA to release detainees, internal memo warns
The Canada Border Security Agency is scrambling to find space to hold high-risk detainees that are set to be transferred from provincial jails in June.
BREAKING Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legendary guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80
Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, 'Ramblin' Man,' has died. He was 80.
Police make arrests in grandparent scam that defrauded victims out of $739K
Ontario Provincial Police say they have 'disrupted' an organized crime group that allegedly used an emergency grandparent scam to defraud seniors across Canada out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Ontario legislature fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
What does it mean to be 'house poor' and how can you avoid it?
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
BREAKING American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Calgary man charged with manslaughter in death of toddler
Calgary police say Winston Campbell, 45, has been charged in the death of a two-year-old girl in 2022.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.