Stittsville family recounts barefoot escape from devastating fire
A charred exterior and a boarded up garage is what remains of Jennifer Enberg’s home after it went up in flames early Saturday morning.
“What woke me up was my son coming into our room saying, ‘Fire, get out,’” she said. “So myself, my one son and his girlfriend and my husband ran out the back door and my other son ran out the front.”
The family lives on Kittiwake Drive in Stittsville. Most of the family escaped into the back yard barefoot and in pyjamas but they were trapped, as piles of snow blocked their only way out.
“The firefighters busted down the gate and got us to the fire truck,” said Enberg.
Ottawa Fire Services reported the fire just before 5:30 a.m. and said a second alarm was called because of the cold. Temperatures had plunged below -30 C.
The family was treated for frostbite and smoke inhalation while Enberg's husband Mike suffered minor burns on his left hand.
“We grew up in that house, raised a family in that house. All the memories... It’s gone,” he said.
OFS spokesperson Nick DeFazio told CTV News Ottawa that several pets, including a frog, a lizard, a gecko, and a bird, were rescued from the home.
The fire at the Enbergs' home was one of six fires that Ottawa firefighters battled on Saturday as extreme cold gripped the capital. Crews responded to three fires overnight, a fourth later in the morning, and two more during the day.
Ottawa Fire Services's Gwen Lewis said the six fires Saturday were all over the city.
She adds that families should be ready in case a fire does break out.
“We can do our best to prevent fires and, if a fire was to happen, that’s when your working smoke alarm comes into play and your home escape plan,” said Lewis.
Meanwhile, the Enbergs are trying to pick up the pieces, anticipating it will take some time before they can assess the damage. The frigid temperatures caused a buildup of ice throughout the structure.
“We were in there 21 years. That was our home,” Jennifer Enberg said. “Hoping for it to warm a little bit and hopefully we can get in.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
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.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
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.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.