An aerial ladder was used to provide a bird’s-eye view of a roof fire for Qualicum Beach firefighters on Thursday (Aug. 19).
The Qualicum Beach Fire Department attended the structure fire on Rowan Drive at approximately 10:30 a.m.
Fire chief Peter Cornell said when the duty officer arrived on scene, he noted the roof burning on a house currently being re-roofed, however, no roofers were on site when it started.
“The crews pulled in and the fire had already spread to the attic by the time water was applied,” said Cornell.
He confirmed while the fire didn’t spread further than the attic, the house did suffer water damage while firefighters worked to suppress the blaze.
The fire damaged half of the roof and engulfed approximately three-quarters of the attic space.
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BC Ambulance was called and on standby, although no injuries were reported during the incident.
Dashwood, Coombs-Hilliers and Parksville fire departments were also in attendance to provide assistance.
The aerial ladder truck was used as a preventative measure, but ultimately not needed for fire suppression.
“We try not to use it if we don’t need to because it creates a large volume of water on the house and would’ve created more water damage.”
The ladder also provided firefighters with an aerial view of the whole scene to better assess the situation.
Cornell said the fire was under control and suppressed within an hour of crews arriving, but the cause remains unknown at this time as investigations are still ongoing.
