Seven people have been displaced after a house fire on Gorge Road.
Acting Platoon Chief for Moncton Fire, James Rooney, described the scene to our newsroom when they arrived at around noon on Monday, “The house was fully involved in fire. That means there was fire from front to back, left to right. It had a really good head start on us. Our attack crews attempted to get the interior, to get at the seat of the fire, but were pushed out due to the extensive heat and smoke.”
The home is in the Maple Hills area, which is just outside the city limits, and there are no hydrants.
“So when we work in a non-hydrant district, we need more trucks to haul more water because we need to bring every drop with us,” Rooney explained.
Rooney added that one of the biggest challenges was that the first floor collapsed into the basement, and firefighters were unable to enter the house. “That just makes it very hard to extinguish a fire from the outside.”
It took around two hours to get the fire under control, and heavy equipment was brought in to knock down the remainder of the structure so firefighters could finish extinguishing the building.
The occupants managed to escape uninjured before Moncton Fire arrived.
“We had 17 firefighters on scene from Moncton, and probably another four from Dieppe and another four from Riverview. They were shuttling water and actively helped in fire suppression operations,” Rooney explained.
RCMP and Ambulance New Brunswick were also there to assist.
Three fires made for a busy weekend for Moncton Fire.
Deputy Chief Keith Guptill says the first fire was on Saturday morning in an attached garage on Foxwood Drive in the north end.
“The call came in at approximately 8 am. When crews arrived, there was smoke and a large amount of flames coming out through the two-car garage. Firefighters brought it under control, probably by around 9 am. They remained on scene for about another hour. There was some smoke damage to the home, but the residents have one of those steel doors that you’re supposed to have between the garage and the house, and it was closed, which saved any further destruction inside the home other than slight smoke,” Guptill explained.
Foxwood Drive fire (March 2026) (Image: submitted by Wade Perry)
There were 18 firefighters on scene assisting to battle the blaze.
The garage and the hybrid vehicle were badly damaged. Guptill added that the hybrid vehicle was charging at the time, but that is not where the fire originated.
Foxwood Drive fire (March 2026) (Image: submitted by Wade Perry)
A second fire broke out at a one-storey home on Elmwood Drive at around 10:50 am the same day.
Guptill said that fire was in a home undergoing renovations, “It was just outside the city limits, and because there are no hydrants out that way, we had to call the Dieppe Fire Department to help us move some water. It was a single-family dwelling, but it’s under renovation, so the complete inside of the place was gutted. When our firefighters made entry, there was a lot of smoke, but they didn’t see flames right away. Once they went inside, you could see the fire, but it was literally on the other side of the home. Because everything was gutted, they were able to make easy access to it and put it out quite quickly. Severe damage to the home, though.”
Once again, around 20 firefighters were on scene for around two hours.
On Sunday, a call came in that required the assistance of both Moncton Fire and Codiac RCMP.
Guptill explained they were called to Hows Crescent in the west end of the city at around 2 pm, where they found heavy smoke.
“They didn’t find the fire until they were able to gain entrance to the second floor. There was a lot of damage to the upper floor, and some smoke and water damage to the lower level,” Guptill said.
He added it was challenging for firefighters because it was snowing quite hard, the temperatures were dropping quickly, and it was slippery on the street and the sidewalk.
“It was pretty hectic overall.”
Hows Crescent fire (March 2026) (Image: submitted byWade Perry)
RCMP Corporal Hans Ouellette told our newsroom that two men from Moncton, 60 and 47 years old, were arrested after the Hows Crescent fire.
Firefighters located unsecured and illegal firearms in the residence while battling the blaze.
Ouellette said as of earlier today, no charges had been laid, and the two men remained in custody.
“Members of the public may continue to see police in the Hows Crescent area as they continue their investigation,” Ouellette added.
Hows Crescent fire (March 2026) (Image: submitted byWade Perry)
