As an exploding inferno engulfed his apartment building in downtown Bridgewater, N.S., on June 10, Akber Shah Abdul Khader Abdul Aziz stood at the barricade, helpless and anxious.

He was enjoying a morning walk when his wife, who was visiting a friend, called in a panic about the fire. He ran home only to discover flames consuming the building while people on King Street recorded videos.

“I was in a situation where I couldn’t think properly,” he said in a recent interview. He and his neighbours m…