'I needed to get them out': Cambridge woman alerts neighbours to house fire
A Cambridge family has been displaced after an early morning house fire, and they have their neighbour to thank for alerting them to the flames.
Araz Mardirosian smelled burning wood around 4 a.m. Thursday and then realized it was coming from her neighbour’s home on Patton Drive.
“There was a lot of smoke and there were flames building up on top, so I called the fire department and ran across to wake the family up,” Mardirosian told CTV News. “I knew they had small children so I needed to get them out. I was banging and yelling out: ‘Fire! Get out! You need to get out, there’s a fire.’ So I woke them up and got them out as fast as I could.”
Home security footage, from a nearby property, captured the moment Mardirosian ran across the street and started banging on the front door.
Araz Mardirosian can be seen in security footage running towards her neighbour's burning home on Patton Drive in Cambridge.
Neighbours tell CTV News a family of seven lives in the home and three of the children are under of the age of five. They also said the family moved to Patton Drive less than a year ago.
The homeowner, Rimsha Hasnain, said she heard people screaming and yelling there was a fire.
At the time of the fire, Hasnain was sleeping in the home with six of her relatives, including her two nieces and nephew, all under the age of 5.
“I just picked up one of the kids, and I ran outside,” said Hasnain
In the meantime, the Red Cross has offered the Hasnain family temporary housing for the next two days before they’ll need to find a new place to stay.
The family told CTV News that it could be months before they can move back into their home, meaning they’ll have to find somewhere else to spend the holidays.
The family said their home did suffer extensive damage, which they hope will be covered by insurance.
“Everybody safe that’s all that matters,” said Hasnain. “It was just all very scary but everybody was there for us.”
Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire but confirm it originated in the third-floor bathroom.
“We are so grateful for our residents that have looked out for their neighbours due to this emergency,” said John Percy, captain of fire prevention with the Cambridge Fire Department. “Typically at 3 o’clock in the morning, most of us are fast and in a deep sleep. They did everything they could to get the people out.”
The fire department tweeted that everyone who lives in the home escaped unharmed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.