People reportedly trapped in northside fire
Barton Crescent blaze brought under control by 9 p.m. Tuesday night, says fire department
Editor’s note: The initial version of this story referred to the fire being Wednesday night, when in fact it was Tuesday. We regret the error.
Firefighters rushed to the scene of a residential fire on Fredericton’s north side Tuesday night with reports of people being trapped inside the burning structure.
The Fredericton Fire Fighters’ Association, the union representing the city’s firefighters, posted an alert on social media at 8:16 p.m. Tuesday about an incident on Barton Crescent.
“Fredericton firefighters are currently operating at a residential structure fire on Barton Crescent with reports of people trapped,” it stated.
“Please avoid the area and allow crews to work. All city fire crews are on scene, and additional off-duty members have been recalled to assist.”
However, the fire department, in a post shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, advised the situation was in hand.
“The Fredericton Fire Department is responding to a structure fire in the 200 block of Barton Crescent on the city’s north side,” it said. “Crews have the fire under control at this time.”
It said the response to the blaze could affect local traffic for a while.
The second post made no reference to the status of the people who may have been inside the burning home, but the reference to it being under control seemed to indicate the danger had passed.
In a followup Wednesday, the fire department revealed there was just a lone occupant trapped on the second floor, and while that person was rescued from the blaze, the victim later died in hospital.
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