One person dead in Bridgewater apartment complex fire: police

Fire broke out shortly before noon in King Street apartment complex

Bridgewater Police and fire investigators say they've located the body of a person at a fire that caused major damage to an apartment complex on King Street the main road in Bridgewater that stretches along the LaHave River.

Police say they believe the deceased is a resident that had not been accounted for by emergency services.

Police said they won't release further details until a positive identification has been made and the person's family is notified.

The fire was reported at 11:45 a.m. AT. Firefighters contained the blaze to two buildings and crews attempted to keep a third building from catching fire.

By late Wednesday night the fire was not fully extinguished and police said hotspots and smoke were still visible.

Fire crews remained on the scene through the night.

Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell said up to 15 departments were activated to respond to the fire at the apartment complex.

The Canadian Red Cross set up at town hall on Wednesday to offer help.

Mitchell praised the efforts of first responders as well as local businesses that provided food and water.

Videos posted on social media showed a plume of black smoke billowing into a blue sky.

Rob Zinck, 64, said he was returning home from meeting a friend for coffee when he noticed smoke rising into the air.

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He went down to King Street to check out what was happening, arriving even before the fire department, and found the apartment complex fully engulfed.

"It was — wow. My mind was blown because it's like you look at it, you see all this smoke and you see this fire, and then you start to watch the siding melting and dropping and flames are coming up through the roof," said Zinck in a phone interview.

"You could see the one power line snapping and blowing and dropping and it was like, whoa. The smoke, it was just immense, very intense, immense amounts of it."

Bridgewater Police said the building is severely damaged and has structural risks.

Once it's made safe, the location will be turned over to investigators including Bridgewater Police, the Office of the Fire Marshall and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner's Office.

In a social media post, police cautioned people against surmising about the cause of the fire.

"Moments like this test our community. Our sincere condolences are offered to family, friends and the greater community. Please support all involved and avoid speculation until all the facts are known."

Police said road closures on King Street from Dufferin Street to Crescent Street, and on Maple Street from King Street to Prince Street, are expected to remain in place for at least 24 hours. They said the town's bus service will continue to be rerouted until King Street is reopened.

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