‘No fear’ from neighbours who saved eight people from Radville house fire

It was the flames crawling across her neighbour’s porch that Samantha Tegart saw first.

“It was an instant feeling of numbness,” she said. “Almost like adrenaline took over and we just ran. We already knew that we need to get everybody out of that house.”

Tegart and her boyfriend, Greg Stewart, were on their way to work around 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, when they saw the fire burning at their neighbor’s house in Radville. Their actions helped eight people and a dog escape before the home was swallowed by flames.

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The couple sprang into action in the community located 130 kilometres southeast of Regina, calling 911 and alerting the family.

“We both were banging on the door, just trying to get someone to hear us yelling ‘get out, get out,’” Tegart said.

While Tegart tried to wake her neighbours up, Stewart ran to the garden hose to begin dowsing some of the flames.

As flames continued to grow, Stewart used his shoulder to break down the door when the family didn’t answer.

Samantha Tegart and Greg Stewart both live together in Radville, 130 kilometres southeast of Regina. (Samantha Tegart/ Submitted)

“It was just an overwhelming smell,” she said, reflecting on being inside the burning home. “Just a really deep and heavy smoke.”

The couple was able to help rush the eight people inside, out of the house.

Nobody was hurt but some were treated for smoke inhalation, including Tegart and Stewart.

“I can’t even describe the feeling. There was no fear, we weren’t scared,” she said. “The thing on our mind was we need to get everybody out of that house.”

Moments after everyone exited the house, the Radville fire department arrived to begin tackling the flames.

“I feel like if we stood back and waited for the fire department, it would have would have been a different story,” Tegart said.

The homeowner declined an interview, but said she didn’t know what would have happened if Tegart and Stewart didn’t come to their rescue.

Action helped fire crews tame flames sooner

When Radville fire chief Byron Labbie learned a fire was burning at a distant relatives home, he had concerns.

“It’s the same as every fire that we attend in the small community,” he said. “It gives you a sick feeling in your stomach when you don’t know if anybody’s … in the house or that’s trapped.”

Labbie saw which home was burning because he had to drive past it on the way to the fire hall.

Two pumper units and one utility unit from the fire department responded to the scene.

Labbie said the crew was able to respond to the flames eight minutes after the call.

Fire Chief Byron Labbie believes the home will be a total loss. (Samantha Tegart/ Submitted)

“The front of the house, the north half of it, was completely on fire,” he said. “The big bay window was gone, so the fire was going into the house at that time, into the living room. The deck was all on fire.”

The crew’s plan to attack the flames changed once Labbie learned everyone had escaped the house.

“It was great that Greg and Sam got them out, because otherwise we would have been dealing with a much, much worse scenario,” he said.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said it is still working to figure out the cause of the flames.

Labbie doesn’t believe foul play is a factor.

He said the home would likely be a total loss.

Town looking into support for the family

The town council is set to discuss how to help the family after the flames at its town meeting on Monday.

Councillor Laird McLeod said the family has been connected with Red Cross in the meantime to make sure they are supported.

“If not for the heroics of some good neighbours … this could have been so much worse,” he said.

When McLeod learned the flames could have ended in fatalities, he had mixed reactions.

“It was basically a combination of elation that nobody helped was harmed and that everybody got out safely, and the horror of could’ve happened,” he said.

Radville has faced a string of devastating fires in the past few years. Three businesses along Main Street in that community burned in 2024 and the community also lost its town office and fire hall to flames in 2022.

McLeod said there have also been a few additional structure fires at homes.

“They (the fires) have become more common than anybody would like to see, for sure,” he said.

McLeod said the community will always do its best to give its support when tragedy strikes.