South Shore fire departments giving out smoke detectors to remember Auburndale fire victims

4 people died last month in a fire in Auburndale on Nova Scotia’s South Shore

Vernon Ramesar · CBC News · 

A Nova Scotia firefighter hopes that a campaign to give smoke detectors to children on the province’s South Shore means they will escape the fate of four people who died in a house fire in Auburndale, N.S., last month.

Midville and District Fire Department Chief Cory Emino sees the initiative as a way to give back and help the healing process.

“The fire department, along with community, we’ve been grieving the loss of those souls and we were at a bit of a loss ourselves as to what to do next,” Emino said.

“I can’t think of a better way to honour the memories … than to help prevent it from happening to somebody else.”

The Auburndale fire claimed the lives of Kaylea Savory and her two sons: Hendrix, 8, and Harley, 11. The nine-year-old daughter of her fiancé also died.

The charred remains of the house on Upper Branch Road in Auburndale, N.S., on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, one day after the bungalow burned to the ground, killing four people. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)

Two people managed to escape the fire.

RCMP previously said the fire is not believed to be suspicious, but it is still under investigation by the fire marshal and medical examiner.

It’s unclear whether the home had a working smoke detector.

The idea for giving out smoke detectors came from firefighter Michelle Greek at the New Germany Volunteer Fire Department. That’s the neighbouring department to Auburndale.

“It’s one of those situations where word gets out and somebody said, ‘Hey, let’s contact Midville where the fire happened and see if they want to join in on this,'” said Jerry Flemming, New Germany’s deputy fire chief.

“And then it was like, ‘Hey, let’s do this as a competition between fire departments throughout our area, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.'”

New Germany Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Michelle Greek came up with the idea for the campaign. She’s shown with Jeff Flemming, the deputy fire chief. (New Germany Fire Department/Facebook)

He said departments from Amherst to Yarmouth are now talking about doing similar projects.

Flemming said a fire chief in the Tri-County district works for Cumings Fire & Safety and the company offered to sell them the smoke detectors at cost.

He said Greek also came up with the idea of holding a competition where children in the district post a photo of themselves with the smoke detector and their names would be entered in a draw.

The winner will get to ride in a new aerial truck the department is taking ownership of in three weeks.

Flemming and Emino said money for purchasing the smoke detectors will come from tax money allocated to the departments and from their share of a firefighters’ 50/50 raffle.

For now, the campaign is based on the South Shore, but Fleming is hoping the initiative takes off provincewide.

Emino said the Midville fire department plans to start by giving smoke detectors to 180 children attending the Newcombville Elementary School in the district, but wants everyone in the community who needs a smoke detector to get one.

“If one life in the future can be saved by this initiative, then we have truly, truly honoured the memories of those who were lost,” he said.