'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
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.