Four individuals, including two teenagers and an infant, were rescued from a rapid house fire by an off-duty RCMP officer who swiftly responded to their distress call and assisted a frantic man in extracting his family through a basement window. Constable Anton Lorde, returning home from duty on July 18, noticed dense smoke rising in the air, leading him to Mount Pleasant Street in the Whitney Pier area of Sydney, N.S.
Upon arrival, Lorde encountered a blazing house with flames engulfing the structure. Initially presuming the residence was empty due to the presence of several bystanders, he promptly cleared the narrow street to make way for incoming fire trucks. However, upon questioning a neighbor about the occupants, he learned that numerous individuals, including children, resided there.
Directed to the backyard by the neighbor, Lorde scaled a fence and began knocking on the windows of the burning building, systematically checking each in search of anyone inside. A startled boy peeked through the blinds as Lorde urged him to evacuate, momentarily losing sight of him when the blinds were shut.
Continuing to pound on the window and shout instructions for evacuation, Lorde was joined by the children’s father, Peter Magliaro, who emerged just in time to assist. Magliaro bravely retrieved the infant from her mother, passing her to Lorde, unaware of his identity as a police officer since he was not in uniform.
With the aid of Magliaro’s brother-in-law, the remaining children – Magliaro’s son and stepdaughters – were rescued through the basement window. Lorde, a seasoned RCMP officer, credited the collaborative effort of all involved in saving lives that day, emphasizing the critical role played by the community during the rescue operation.
Acknowledged for his heroism by bystanders, Lorde humbly expressed that his presence at the scene was serendipitous. The fire department arrived promptly following the 5:30 p.m. distress call, managing to rescue the family’s pets amidst the chaos.
While investigations by the fire marshal’s office and Cape Breton Regional Police are ongoing, Magliaro suspects arson as the cause of the fire and has offered a reward for information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators. Despite the loss of their uninsured home, Magliaro and his family are determined to rebuild in the place they called home for over three decades.
