'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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.