Shediac apartment fire displaces all tenants

An apartment fire that broke out in Shediac early Thursday morning has displaced all of its residents and the building is a total loss. Fire teams responded to a call for an outdoor fire at the apartment around 4 15 a.m. Minutes after firefighters arrived it was upgraded to a full structure fire. On arrival here the entire back side of the building was fully engulfed as well as the roof of the building. We were able to do a quick search of the entire building, all three floors. We didn't find any occupants at that time. But at this point in time, we have no indication that there was anybody inside. So we're hopeful and confident that everybody got out. The 36-unit building is at 25 Cornwall Road in Shediac, across from the Canadian Tire. Seabreeze Properties owns the building and said in a statement no injuries had been reported. The building's tenant manager, Erica Nanheptich, who lived there, helped make sure others got out in time. I'm going up the stairs and down the stairs, banging on people's doors, yelling, there's a fire, you've got to get out, there's a fire, you've got to get out. And the smoke was just billowing everywhere. Unfortunately, we lost our cat. There's some other tenants who have lost other cats as well, but everyone is safe. Residents were bussed to the Shediac Multipurpose Centre, where the Red Cross was on site, to help them. Seabreeze Properties said it arranged temporary accommodations for tenants and the local Frenchie's clothing store offered clothes and other local businesses provided food. We're all still in shock. We're all looking for answers. Right now we don't have any answers. These are my people. I love them all. They all mean something to me. We're all family in this little big building. We're all connected. I did what I knew I had to do. 50 firefighters from four departments were on scene most of the day from Shediac, Cap-Acadie, Dieppe and Beau Soleil. Boudreau said it's been difficult to access the apartment. The challenge with this building is the size of the building and the fact that the roof was on fire early. So the roof has collapsed inside the building. So it's difficult for us to get inside the building because it's fully collapsed in the middle of the building. Fire investigative units have been on site since morning. The Shediac Fire Department says it doesn't know the cause, but that it's under investigation.