Family of 6 dead, including 4 children, after fire in N.S. travel trailer

A family of six, including four children, have been killed after a travel trailer caught fire in Nova Scotia’s Cumberland County.

RCMP were called to the fire on Mountain Road in Millvale, N.S. at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The bodies of six people were located. The victims are a 30-year-old man, a 28-year-old woman and four children aged three, four, eight and 11. The family is from Amherst, N.S., which is about 45 minutes away.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall said the trailer was parked on a plot of private land, and was not easily accessible. Officers found the roads “unpassable” and it took them “quite a bit of time” to arrive at the scene.

By the time officers arrived, the fire was out, Marshall said.

“The exterior of the travel trailer was intact,” he added.

 

Marshall was not sure how long the camper had been parked there, but believes the family was at the location for the weekend. He said the 911 report came from someone who hadn’t heard from the family in a while, and had gone to check on them.

RCMP said the preliminary investigation has led them to believe that the fire is not suspicious at this time.

“It’s certainly a tragic situation,” said Marshall. “Members who responded, it would have been difficult for them.”

The Collingwood Fire Department, which responded to the fire Sunday, declined to comment on the case, citing the investigation.

Volunteer Jake Cotton said those who responded are doing “as good as we could do right now” after the horrible discovery.

Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education has confirmed that three of the children were students in the school district.

“Right now, our priority is to support our students and staff members of Cumberland North Academy where these sudden losses will leave a lasting impact on those who knew them,” it posted on Twitter.

School psychologists, the student services consultant and school counselor will be at the school Monday to provide support.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community impacted by this tragedy,” the district wrote.

The investigation into the fire is continuing Monday with the Nova Scotia Fire Marshal’s Office, the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner’s Office and RCMP.

— With a file from Alex Cooke