Fire destroys building in Digby, displacing 7 people

A fire in Digby, N.S., early Friday destroyed a building on the town’s main street, displacing seven people.

Digby fire Chief Robert Morgan said they were called to 45 Water St. just after 4:20 a.m. Six fire departments from Weymouth to Annapolis Royal responded, he said.

In a social media post about two hours later, RCMP said Water Street was closed because of the fire and they advised drivers to avoid the area or expect delays.

An image taken by Nova Scotia Webcams at around 6:30 a.m. showed several fire trucks parked along Water Street, which runs along the shoreline in the town, with traffic backed up behind them.

Power was shut off in the area as a precaution, Morgan said, but it has since been restored. More than 200 Nova Scotia power customers were affected, according to the utility’s outage map.

The flames also damaged an adjacent building, he said.

RCMP Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said an excavator was on site to tear down what’s left of the building.

RCMP are assisting with the investigation, he said, but the fire isn’t believed to be suspicious.

The Canadian Red Cross is assisting those who lost their homes, Morgan said.