NS Businesses Step In To Help As Wildfires Burn
HALIFAX– On Sunday evening, the skies over Halifax and surrounding towns were filled with a plume of smoke. There were times where the sounds of chirping birds were replaced by the sirens of emergency vehicles. What started as a peaceful, summer-like Sunday turned to shock when everyone’s mobile phones blared consecutive emergency alerts.
Due to fast moving wildfires, neighbourhoods in Upper Tantallon, Yankeetown, Hammonds Plains, Sackville Drive, and several others were told to evacuate.
With so many people in need of aide, several businesses stepped forward in the early hours of the emergency. Andy Doughty, the owner of hANDY Cabs in Enfield, owns a small fleet of five vehicles. Nonetheless, he is willing to spare those cars for anyone needing a ride because of the fires.
Of course, how close he will be allowed to get to the evacuation zones is hard to predict, but he is willing to do what he can, regardless.
“I’ve had two people who said they’re going to get back to me,” said Doughty. “But everyone seems to be getting out alright, which I was hoping for anyway. I just want people to know that in the worst case, give me a call. I’ll come straight down.”
“It’s one of those things, where, if that fire was up in Enfield, people would come and help up here. I know they would; it’s just how Nova Scotia is.”
Doughty knows firsthand how Nova Scotians rally around each other. The cab owner came here years ago from Brighton, England. Those early days after immigrating were not easy for him, but he always got help from strangers.
“The main reason I’m doing this is because, when I first came to Canada, a lot of people offered to help me, and it’s just good karma,” he explained. “It’s that simple. I know how easy it is to be stuck in a situation where your vehicle isn’t working, or you don’t have a vehicle, or there’s not enough seats.”
“When I first moved here, I reached out to the food bank. They helped me a lot when I first came here, because I didn’t have a whole lot of money. Members of the community reached out to help. It’s just stuff you remember over the years.”
Although Doughty put out his offer on Sunday, he is not putting a timeline on when it will expire. As long as people are stranded because of the fire, he is willing to lend his wheels.
“With forest fires, you can’t tell when it’ll end. It could be a few hours, it could be a few days. The offer’s there as long as it’s needed.”
Throughout Sunday evening, there was much concern over the fate of pets and animals who would be losing their homes because of the wildfires. One post that quickly went viral was from Uptown Tails Pet Resort, which offered free emergency boarding for dogs. When sent a text message however, an automatic reply stated that the boarding company had lost power due to the fire, and they were forwarding people to the SPCA.
But at 9 PM, another dog business, Ace It Canine Academy, posted that they were boarding pets for anyone in need.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].