An explosive situation has left an Enderby home in rubble and police considering possible charges.
Fireworks set off inside a home on Lawes Street led to the structure being engulfed by flames just after midnight Sunday.
“It’s a party that went wrong,” said Kevin Alstad, Enderby’s fire chief.
Police officers are determining if possible charges of mischief could be laid.
“It’s the first case I’ve heard of people setting off fireworks inside a home,” said Gord Molendyk, RCMP spokesperson.
Enderby’s bylaws prohibit the possession of fireworks, but city officials will not get involved in Sunday’s incident.
“We are not looking at issuing a ticket for the bylaw infraction,” said Barry Gagnon, chief administrative officer.
Alstad isn’t surprised by the scope of the destruction.
“Being very hot, the fireworks ignited the bedroom fairly fast,” he said, adding that he’s not sure what the sparks from the fireworks actually set ablaze.
“It could land on a bed or small pile of clothes.”
With six people inside the house at the time, the situation could have been far worse.
“One person was in a different part of the house sleeping so the others had to get him up and out,” said Alstad.
The person renting the home was not present at the time of the fire and it’s not known if he has content insurance.
There was little the 14 firefighters could do to save the house, and the main goal was to prevent the fire from spreading.
“We had to watch out for other residences. There was quite a load of bush and trees around the house,” said Alstad, adding that his crew was on scene for nine hours.
“There was a lot of stuff inside the house. The roof collapsed on itself so there was fire on top of fire.”
As a result of the blaze, residents are being asked to stay away from fireworks.
“It’s very dangerous,” said Alstad of the possible risk to property and people.
