Update 11:29 a.m.
At approximately 5 a.m. the Kelowna Fire Department Dispatch center received several 911 calls reporting a residential house on fire in the 300 block of Highway 33 East.
Kelowna Fire department responded to the scene and discovered a fully involved two story residential house. The townhouses to the west were protected by crews while the fire was brought under control. No occupants were at home at the time of the fire and the structure sustained major damage.
The Kelowna Fire Department responded with four engines, rescue unit and a command unit along with BC Ambulance Services and RCMP to the incident.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and will be investigated by Kelowna Fire Department Investigators along with the RCMP.
Kelowna Fire Department would like to remind the public to check their smoke alarms regularly, as they do save lives.
Original
Kelowna fire crews were called to a blaze at a structure on the corner of Mallach Road and Highway 33 in Rutland, early Tuesday morning.
According to Platoon Capt. Dennis Miller crews arrived in scene to find a home engulfed in flames.
However the residence was vacant and fire crews quickly jumped into action to ensure the flames didn’t spread to nearby homes.
Neighbour Patty Harris says she woke up at 5 a.m. to the sounds of sirens and flashes from emergency lights outside her house.
“I put on my housecoat to come down and the flames were shooting out of the building, but firefighters were quick to get them out,” she explained.
The blaze was quickly extinguished and according to Harris she suspects the fire was under control in just over half an hour.
The Mallach Road and Highway 33 was reopen to traffic by 7 a.m.
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