KENTVILLE, N.S. — A double take made a world of difference for a North Kentville business in the wee morning hours Dec. 4.
SaltWire Network newspaper carrier David Smith was making regular deliveries along his North Kentville route around 3:30 a.m. when something caught his eye at Richie’s Pizzeria on Nichols Avenue.
“I thought it was odd-looking Christmas lights – you see those dancing ones – and then I looked again and… the siding underneath the window of the restaurant was dripping,” he recalled in a recent interview.
“I said, ‘No, that’s a fire!”
He immediately dialed 911.
“It had me a little excited there, because I forgot the address where I was,” he said.
“It was the first time I ever spotted a fire. I was quite taken back by it.”
It was hard to tell how much damage had been done by the time he called it in.
“There was a little bit of smoke and you couldn’t see through the windows. To me, it looked like it was inside, but I wasn’t sure,” he said.
RCMP officers commended him for reporting the fire, and the store owner has repeatedly thanked him for taking the time to stop and check things out.
Smith has been humbled – and even surprised – by the recognition he’s received.
“I’m just being a responsible citizen,” he said.
“I was pretty impressed by everybody calling me over this,” he later added.
He’s chuffed at the notion that his actions could have softened the blow for a local business.
"I’m just going to take my own loss. It’s just like you taking a piece of bread from your kid's mouth."- business owner Richard Rabahi
Owner Richard Rabahi can’t thank Smith enough.
“I really appreciate what he did. It saved the business, saved my whole career,” he said, noting that he’s been in that location for 25 years.
He said the fire was snuffed out by local firefighters before it could spread to the inside of the building. The bulk of the damage done impacted siding and a window.
Rabahi purchased approximately $1,000 worth of supplies to repair the exterior damage.
“It hurt because it came from my pocket,” he said, adding that it’s not worth it to put that amount through insurance.
“I’m just going to take my own loss. It’s just like you taking a piece of bread from your kids’ mouth - $1,000 is not easy to make.”
RCMP are treating the fire as suspicious due to activity captured in surveillance videos, Rabahi said.
The father of three is disheartened to think that someone would try to set his business ablaze.
He takes comfort in knowing there are also people like Smith.
“We really, really thank him and we’re lucky to have him,” said Rabahi, who shudders at the thought of what could have happened if Smith had not spotted the fire minutes after it ignited.
“I told him if I could give him $1 million, I would.”
Smith blushes when Rabahi’s daughter, Acadia student Nicole Rabahi, calls him the “hero of North Kentville.”
“The hero of North Kentville? Well, that sounds good,” he replied with a chuckle. “I like that.”
Smith appreciated the offer of free pizza every month for the next year, but politely declined.
“I’m just doing what every man should do.”
Kings District RCMP spokesperson Jeff Wilson was not available to comment on the status of the investigation as of press time.
