Halifax-area fires leave residents displaced, grocery store forced to close

Several residents in the Halifax area are now homeless following two separate structure fires that occurred this week, one of which has also led to the closure of a local grocery store.

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I was just thinking (off the) top of my head about my passport and most of my documents and I was thinking like what will be happening next.

On Monday evening, a fire on Gaston Road in Dartmouth destroyed three buildings containing residential units and a commercial business. Meet Chauchan, a tenant, described seeing smoke in the distance while driving home, only to arrive and find his building engulfed in flames. He expressed immediate concern for essential documents like his passport. "I was just thinking (off the) top of my head about my passport and most of my documents and I was thinking like what will be happening next," he said.

The owner of Namaste Indian Grocery, located in the affected commercial structure, Amal Dev, stated that his storefront suffered significant damage. "I don’t think we can run again. I think the building structure is almost gone. So I have to find out a new location," Dev said, though he expressed determination to reopen elsewhere. "We’ll come back stronger with the Namaste Grocery. It’s been six years, so soon we’ll find out a good location and we’ll open." Dev is now focused on supporting his staff and neighbors who depend on the store.

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I don’t think we can run again. I think the building structure is almost gone. So I have to find out a new location.

This blaze occurred just two days after firefighters responded to another major apartment fire on South Park Street in Halifax's south end. Divya Chainani, a tenant whose apartment was the origin of that fire, described losing everything. "The world that I had built, now it’s all gone so I have to like literally start from ground zero. I don’t even have a suitcase with me right now. I got nothing. I literally ran without even a phone," she recounted.

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We’ll come back stronger with the Namaste Grocery. It’s been six years, so soon we’ll find out a good location and we’ll open.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Assistant Chief Sherry Dean confirmed that crews encountered heavy smoke and fire upon arrival at the Gaston Road incident. While officials state these fires are not part of a broader trend, they are urging vigilance. Dean advised residents to ensure working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are functional and to be aware of escape routes. The causes of both fires remain under investigation.

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The world that I had built, now it’s all gone so I have to like literally start from ground zero. I don’t even have a suitcase with me right now. I got nothing. I literally ran without even a phone.