One man was hospitalized after he suffered burns trying to save a dog from a fire in Nanaimo.
North Cedar Fire Department responded to the alarm at about 11:20 p.m. Saturday to a property in the 1400 block of Clifford Road in Cedar.
Percy Tipping, North Cedar Fire Department chief, said when firefighters arrived they found a shed, about four metres by five metres in size fully engulfed in flame.
Tipping said, according to the information he had available, it appears someone was living in the structure.
“It was fully involved upon arrival and one person was taken to hospital with facial burns,” he said.
A dog died in the blaze and Tipping did not have an update of the man’s condition.
As of Monday morning Tipping had not been able to establish what started the fire.
“Actually I don’t really know why because the occupant was taken to hospital and I haven’t had a chance to talk with him yet, so I really have no idea what activity was taking place there or what would cause it,” Tipping said.
Tipping said the alarm came in with information that there might have been an explosion in the shed, but no one he spoke to at the scene verified that was the case.
The structure couldn’t be saved so firefighters ensured fire couldn’t spread to the surrounding area by soaking nearby vegetation with water and fire-retardant foam.
“Obviously we were concerned for fire extension due to the extreme fire conditions right now,” Tipping said.
Ron Gueullette, Cranberry Volunteer Fire Department chief, said his department also responded with a pumper truck to help knock down the blaze and control fire spread.
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