Reid’s Funeral Home in Hampton is dealing with a loss of its own after an early morning fire Thursday destroyed its building.
A passerby called in the fire at around 3 a.m. Thursday, according to Mike Raeburn, deputy chief of Hampton Fire-Rescue.
Raeburn said the first crews on scene were met with heavy fire coming through the roof of the building.
“We had it under control in an hour. It was at 4 o’clock that we deemed it under control and then there’s always the hotspots you’ve got to dig out where the roof collapsed,” Raeburn said in a phone interview.
Despite bringing the fire under control within an hour, Raeburn said the building is a “total loss.”
Dyson Regular, owner and manager of the funeral home, said he received a call about the fire shortly after 3 a.m.
“We got on site shortly thereafter and the building was engulfed in flames,” Regular said in a phone interview.
Regular said no one was hurt in the fire and all urns stored at the funeral home are safe, along with all records of pre-planned services.
“We also want you to know there was no harm to anyone resting at the facility,’ said a notice on the funeral home’s website.
Regular said staff have been in touch with all families currently being served by the funeral home.
The funeral home has contingency plans in place to ensure they will be looked after, he said.
“We do have two other funeral homes in neighbouring communities that we can serve our families from,” said Regular.
“In the coming days, I’m sure we’ll be in touch with our town and see if there’s other facilities in the area that we can work through.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Raeburn said there is “absolutely nothing” that indicates it was suspicious.
Hampton Fire-Rescue received help from three neighbouring departments, including Nauwigewauk, Long Reach, and Peninsula.
