A woman who credits her dog for saving her life from a fire that broke out in her Osoyoos home Saturday (May 8) night is now desperately hoping he ran away somewhere.
Her dog goes by the name “Ginger” and is a German Shepherd/border collie cross with ginger colouring. Ruth Glover posted to an Osoyoos Facebook group that the woman who survived the fire desperately wants to see her companion once again.
Glover said the dog actually woke the woman to alert her to danger. Ginger allegedly followed her out of the house but then turned around and went back. In all the panic, they didn’t see Ginger again. Everyone is hopeful that he was scared and ran for safety.
The devestating fire has left the recent widow without a place to live.
Right now, many people are helping to support her and looking for somewhere she can live.
The first fire at the 92nd Avenue home broke out just before midnight Saturday, May 8.
When fire crews arrived the house was fully engulfed and you could see flames throughout the inside the home, according to Osoyoos Fire Department deputy fire chief Ryan McCaskill
“Luckily, the occupant of the home was out of the house when we arrived and her two cats were out already,” said McCaskill.
Because of how bad the fire was, the house was deemed unsafe and not structurally sound for any firefighter to safely go inside, he said.
Osoyoos firefighters battled the blaze for more than three hours before putting out the fire.
Having poured “tons of water” on it, checking for hot spots with thermal imaging equipment, fire crews determined the fire to be out by Sunday morning. Crews returned throughout Sunday to check on the house and saw nothing of concern.
The fire department even hired a security company to keep an eye on the home for them.
Despite all those efforts, a fire started up again at midnight Sunday.
“We had doused that house and checked it for hot spots. There were none. We even had security there to keep eyes on the house. It just doesn’t make sense,” said McCaskill.
The second fire at the 92nd Avenue home was worse than the first.
“Flames were coming through the roof, it was fully involved again,” he said.
The wind was picking up and sending embers on to the neighbour’s roof.
“We had to wet down that roof and protect that structure from catching fire,” he said.
Firefighters were on scene for over seven hours into Monday morning.
There was a lot of things inside the home that fueled the fire, according to McCaskill. What remains of the burned up home will be knocked down eventually.
Because the home is so compromised, fire investigators haven’t been able to get in to investigate.
That investigation is expected to take place this week.
If you see Ginger anywhere, call the police non-emergency line or the SPCA.
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