UPDATE: Fire Causes Extensive Damage To North End Home

The Saint John Fire Department says a Friday afternoon fire caused extensive damage to a home in the city’s north end.

Crews responded at around 12 p.m. to a two-storey building located at 82 Victoria Street.

Acting Platoon Chief Patrick Thebeau said when firefighters arrived, flames and smoke were spouting out from inside the building.

“They tried to do an internal attack, but it was a little bit too much, so they came back out and we attacked it from the outside and knocked it down as much as we could,” said Thebeau.

“Once we got it to the point where we could go back in, they went back in.”

Thebeau said nobody was home at the time. After speaking with the property owner, he said the building had been under construction prior to the blaze.

Crews have been unable to assess any damage to the building as they continue to dig out the first floor.

“It’s been a pretty stubborn fire,” said Thebeau.

“It’s in the walls of a balloon construction building. They’ve got [it] pretty well [under control]. We’re still looking for a few hotspots, but it’s pretty hard on the crews. It’s hot today and they’re pretty exhausted from this fire.”

Thebeau said an investigation is ongoing, adding that the cause of the fire is currently unknown.

As of 1:45 p.m., crews were observed to be spraying water into the building’s second floor.

Thebeau said three firefighters were checked over by paramedics for dehydration. Crews were on the scene for five hours.

Meanwhile, the city says residents in the north end and Millidgeville may have to flush their water over the next few days due to the fire.

Residents who have been away should turn on their taps for a few minutes to flush out the water in their plumbing.

“This will remove the water that has been sitting in the pipes while you were away and will draw cleaner, fresher water into your plumbing,” the city said in a news release.

But if you have been using your water, city officials say you do not need to do anything else since you have effectively already flushed out old water.

With files from Brad Perry.