Flames were shooting into the sky this morning as Penticton firefighters fought a structure fire in Westbench.
But the three-alarm fire at a Jonathan Drive home looked more dramatic than it actually was, according to deputy fire chief Dave Spalding, who said the flames, which were visible through much of Penticton, were mostly on the outside of a garage on the property.
“It turned out it was a two-car garage with a pottery art studio loft. The fire actually started on the outside of the building and spread up into the roof system and eventually started to work it’s way into the building,” said Spalding. “The guys did a really good job of stopping it and knocking the flames down. There was definitely some heavy fire damage on the outside and into the roof system, but a good deal of the building is still there.”
The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but Spalding said they suspect a pottery kiln.
“On the outside of the building there was a kiln for firing pottery and a bit of a wood structure around it. The fire originated in that area, but we don’t know if it was the kiln specifically. We are still investigating that,” said Spalding. “We should know by the middle of next week if it was the kiln or not, but we suspect that.”
Spalding said the garage area was hardly affected and crews were able to salvage a lot of the people’s belongings.
“It wasn’t a loft anyone sleeps in, so there was nobody there at the time. The homeowners were in the house and the house is detached from the garage, so it wasn’t affected at all,” said Spalding. “No one was injured, no one was displaced, no one is sleeping in hotels.”
The call came into the hall on March 6 at 4:36 a.m. as a confirmed structure fire, and the on duty crews responded with both engines.
“They could see a bit of flame on leaving the hall, and on approach they could tell it was a structure so they made it a third alarm, which calls back our off-shift people,” said Spalding. “We had lots of guys up there, so that was good. We were able to make a quick knockdown on it, did a mop up and we were out of there by 8 a.m.”
