A quick-thinking citizen of Middleton, N.S., took decisive action that might have saved a mother and her child from a house fire Saturday.
In a Facebook post, Shawn Trahan said he and his wife Vicki were on their way home when they spotted the fire in Nictaux, N.S. He said they were the first on the scene and while Vicki called 911, he ran around the house and shouted “fire.”
“The back corner was fully involved, the doorway was on fire, smoke everywhere, no one got out that door,” Trahan said. “There was no car in the yard either. For a second I thought maybe no one was home.”
Trahan said the smoke made it hard to breathe while he pounded on the front door to make sure no one was trapped inside.
“On my 2nd [sic] or third bang on the door, it slowly opened,” Trahan wrote in the post. “I was surprised that someone was in there as it was black around the house and fire coming out the rear roof & walls & deck. A young woman and a baby in a diaper stood in front of me.”
Trahan said he led them out of the smoke and a neighbour took them in.
Fire departments in Annapolis Valley responded to the house fire around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, said the deputy chief of the Nictaux & District Volunteer Fire Department. He said no one was harmed but would not comment on the extent of the damage.
In a social media post the department thanked their mutual aid partners from fire stations around Annapolis Valley who all assisted in response to the fire.

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