Several Halifax-area residents have found themselves without a place to call home following two structure fires this week, including one that has forced a grocery store to close.
Fire destroyed three buildings containing residential units and a commercial business on Gaston Road in Dartmouth on Monday evening.
Meet Chauchan, a tenant, said he was driving home when he saw smoke in the distance and arrived to find his building engulfed in flames.
“I was just thinking (off the) top of my head about my passport and most of my documents and I was thinking like what will be happening next,” he said.
He and his neighbours told Global News they’re still waiting to find out how much was lost in the fire.
Halifax Fire said the main fire was contained to the three rear units, which are located behind the commercial structure.
“Our crews could see heavy smoke in the distance and they upgraded to a second alarm. So when they arrived, they did encounter heavy smoke and heavy fire,” said Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Assistant Chief Sherry Dean.
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Investigators were on scene Tuesday morning assessing the damage and working to determine the cause.
The owner of Namaste Indian Grocery said his storefront suffered significant damage, and believes he’ll have to relocate.
“I don’t think we can run again. I think the building structure is almost gone. So I have to find out a new location,” said Amal Dev.
“We’ll come back stronger with the Namaste Grocery. It’s been six years, so soon we’ll find out a good location and we’ll open.”
In the meantime, Dev said he’s focused on finding solutions to support his staff and the neighbours.
“I have to support them because there’s a lot of family that depend on the store,” he said.
The blaze came just two days after crews responded to another significant apartment fire on South Park Street in Halifax’s south end.
The fire broke out in an eighth-floor unit.
“I just had my breakfast and came back and I just saw the room on fire,” said Divya Chainani, a tenant of the unit where the fire started.
She said she lost everything when the fire spread through her apartment on Saturday, forcing her to rebuild from scratch.
“The world that I had built, now it’s all gone so I have to like literally start from ground zero. I don’t even have a suitcase with me right now. I got nothing. I literally ran without even a phone,” she said.
Officials said fires like these are not part of a broader trend, but they are urging people to stay vigilant.
“Make sure they have things like working smoke detectors, that they sure ensure fire extinguishers are working if they have them, and that they understand an escape route,” said Dean.
The causes of both fires remain under investigation.