Halifax Regional Municipality

09/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/17/2025 09:11

Update – structure fire in Middle Sackville – Sept. 17, 12 noon

The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising residents of the following update regarding the structure fire at an apartment building at 119 Hanwell Drive, Middle Sackville.

There are 64 units in the apartment building, with approximately 180 residents. The municipality can confirm that no one was injured as a result of the fire. As well, due to the swift response by Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (HRFE), the fire was prevented from spreading to an adjacent building.

Evacuation centre

On Monday, Sept. 15, an evacuation centre was opened at the Springfield Lake Recreation Centre, 266 Lakeview Avenue, Middle Sackville, to assist any residents impacted by the fire. The Red Cross have been conducting in-person registrations and as of 9 a.m. today, families from 61 of the 64 units in the apartment building had registered. Of the 61 units registered, there is a total of 139 residents.

There are currently no residents at the evacuation centre; however, it reopened today at 8 a.m. and will remain open until 3 p.m. This is the last day the evacuation centre will be open so anyone who has not yet registered is strongly encouraged to do so.

Any residents experiencing difficulty securing short-term accommodations are encouraged to contact the Red Cross through the evacuation centre for assistance.

Status of the building & fire investigation

Yesterday, HRFE met with the building owner and a construction company to discuss next steps and arranged for an excavator to open up the building in key areas to confirm the fire was extinguished.

This was completed by 3 p.m. and fire operations were concluded. HRFE has released the property to the building owner.

HRFE members were also available throughout the day to assist residents with recovering their possessions, where it was safe to do so.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation and there is currently no estimated timeline for when the investigation will be complete. HRFE Fire Investigators will work with the property's insurance company and their fire investigator to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

Halifax Transit operations

As fire operations have concluded, routes 83/183 have returned to regular service.

Donations

The Encounter Church of the Salvation Army is collecting donations for those impacted by the fire. This includes:

  • bottled water and other hydration products
  • shelf-stable (non-perishable) food
  • new clothing
  • hygiene products

Donations can be dropped off at 51 Metropolitan Ave, Lower Sackville, Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that furniture donations cannot be accepted at this time.

Monetary donations can be made at salvationarmy.ca.

Residents impacted by the fire may contact the Salvation Army Encounter Church at 902.865.8010 or email [email protected] for more information on how to register and pick up items.

Additional information and guidance 

Residents are encouraged to register for hfxALERT, the municipality's mass notification system to receive urgent and non-urgent public alerts by phone, email or text.    

This will be the last update regarding this fire. 

Halifax Regional Municipality published this content on September 17, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 17, 2025 at 15:12 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]