Six people are homeless after fire destroyed an old wooden building in Saint John early Sunday.

An elderly man had to be rescued by firefighters, said District Fire Chief Eric Garland. The man was disoriented, but not hurt. A woman was also treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.

The fire at 9 Garden St. started about 3 a.m., Garland said.

By the time firefighters arrived, the large three-storey structure was already in flames, he said. It took 24 firefighters about two hours to get the blaze under control.

'"The coldest part of the winter is when we always see a big spike in fires and we haven't reached that point yet.'—Dan Bedell, Red Cross

"We were … quite concerned with an adjacent structure that was pretty well joined to that building, which was currently under renovation and it did have two occupants," Garland said.

"We were able to cut the fire off and drive the fire back, and because of that, save the [adjacent] building."

The frigid temperatures made it particularly tough to tackle the flames, said Garland.

"The cold is always a problem for firefighters," he said. "What happens is a freeze-up of equipment and we certainly experienced that last night."

Red Cross kept busy

Red Cross officials have helped the six displaced tenants find emergency accommodations.

The two residents of the other building were expected to be able to return to their home Sunday, once power was restored.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

It was the fourth fire that Red Cross officials have responded to in the Maritimes since Friday, said Dan Bedell of the Canadian Red Cross, Atlantic zone. There have been two in New Brunswick and one each in Nova Scotia and P.E.I.

Volunteers are bracing for even more fires this week as temperatures are expected to drop well below the freezing mark, he said.

"The coldest part of the winter is when we always see a big spike in fires and we haven't reached that point yet. We're only early on in the season and as the temperatures begin to dip, as it will in the next week … that's when you see fires occur."

Winter fires are often linked to heating issues, Bedell said.

The other three fires also remain under investigation.