'It's a pretty traumatic thing': Resident of Rosthern apartment recounts son's exit from burning building
A person is dead following a fire in a Rosthern, Sask. apartment building, according to RCMP.
Emergency responders were called to the building on 4th Avenue in Rosthern around 9 a.m. Thursday, RCMP said in a news release.
All other residents evacuated from the building safely, RCMP said.
Apartment resident Gilbert Baldhead was at work when he received a call from his 19-year-old son saying their building was on fire.
Baldhead says he could see smoke from the highway as he rushed back into town to meet him.
“He was pretty shaken up. He told me what he went through helping the family below us; helping a mother and a child out the front door. Their kids were evacuated on the balcony,” he said.
Gilbert Baldhead lived in the apartment building where a fire broke out on Friday. (Miriam Valdes-Carletti / CTV News)
Baldhead says he knows the person who died.
“It never dawned on me that she was in there,” he said. “It’s a pretty traumatic thing, but just speaking to some of the people around here today, the town of Rosthern is coming to some of the tenant’s aid and I’m thankful for that.”
Baldhead also thanked One Arrow First Nation for putting him and his son up in a hotel room in Saskatoon for a week.
He said his son was still in shock over the incident.
Jason Andres has been the live-in caretaker of the building for four years and says he and his daughter are going to have to find a place to live in the meantime.
“It’s hard. It’s going to be a hard Christmas this year. We’ll survive, I guess. We have lots of family around,” Andres told CTV News.
Andres is unsure how the fire started. He says it’s unlikely many of the units were untouched by thick smoke, saying residents have yet to return to collect their belongings.
“They’re all emotional and sad. They’re very stressed. They have to find a place to live in such a short time,” he said.
Andres and Baldhead say the property manager is working to find homes for displaced residents in Hague and surrounding areas, along with support from the town of Rosthern.
The Hague fire department assisted Rosthern firefighters, with local paramedics and Wakaw RCMP also responding.
The coroner was called to the scene to investigate the death, RCMP said.
-With files from Miriam Valdes-Carletti
The Sask. RCMP says one person is dead following a fire in this apartment building on 4th Ave in Rosthern. (Photo: Facebook/Angel Wall)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
BREAKING Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.