Firefighters stayed on scene through the night pumping water into the rubble

As rough as Monday was for the ten residents of the apartment fire on 1st Avenue NW, the rest of the week is going to be just as hard. Tenants and business owners are trying to get a foothold after the shock of losing everything.

Many were sent running to the streets with just the clothes on their backs when the fire set off the alarms at 6:24 Monday morning, while some were shaken awake by firefighters trying to clear the building. They watched from the street as their belongings, memories and homes went up in smoke.

Luckily no one was hurt in the blaze but recovering is going to be difficult. The Salvation Army and the Canadian Red Cross were quickly on scene, helping those who have been displaced by the fire.

"They seemed to be a bit shaken from having to be evacuated so quickly and because there was so much smoke and the uncertainty of what was going on." explained Moose Jaw Salvation Army Captain Gary Reilly.

"It took a bit of a toll on them. Basically you just help them sift through the feelings of what's going on, reassure them that there's going to be support and there are going to be people that are able to help them, then when things are sort of settled down, their lives can get back to some sort of normality."

Residents stayed at the Salvation Army for a portion of the day then the Canadian Red Cross helped move them to a motel, where they can stay until a long term plan is figured out.