Pets perish in Glenwood house fire, but nobody home at time of blaze: volunteer chief

A few animals are dead after a family lost their home in a fire in western P.E.I.

Volunteer firefighters from the O'Leary and West Point fire departments responded following reports of the blaze in Glenwood after 6 p.m. on Saturday evening, according to O'Leary Chief Ron Phillips.

He said there were no injuries to humans, but a few house pets died in the fire. The home belonged to one an O'Leary volunteer firefighter.

"It tends to be upsetting, it's certainly not something we've run into before," Phillips told CBC on Sunday.

Phillips said the family of four, which includes a seven-year-old and four-month-old, weren't home when the fire started.

The homeowner tried to help his fellow firefighters put out the fire after arriving at the home.

"He tried to help us out, and we had to ask him to just step back and let us do our thing because, you know, he's understandably upset," Phillips said.

Phillips said that firefighters usually pack up and leave after fighting fires, but this time it was different.

"Several of the firefighters went to work and started making contacts about getting them clothing and supplies," he said.

Firefighters tried to help them out as best they could on Saturday night, and continued to do so on Sunday.

"I find anywhere on P.E.I., a small town will step up and support their own when they're having troubles, and this is no exception," Phillips said.

As for what could have caused the fire, Phillips says, "there wasn't enough really left of the trailer to say how it initially got started."