Bright red and orange flames of a house fully engulfed in fire greeted firefighters arriving at the scene on Leed Road around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday.
The fire was spreading to a neighbouring house and “the large trees on the property were also starting to candle,” Fire Chief Tom Doherty said.
The homeowner met fire crews on the street and informed them that all four occupants of the house were out and it was determined that the single occupant of the neighbouring house was out as well.
There were “exposure problems” with the houses on the other two sides of the fire as well, Doherty said.
This was a particularly intense fire and firefighters immediately went into a defensive attack, meaning no one was sent into the structure and, instead, started working on the exposures on all three sides.
In the neighbouring, house, however, the fire had made its way into the attic so firefighters were sent in there to attack that situation.
“Fire got into the attic there so we were able to catch that before it destroyed the home,” Doherty said.
Fire investigators were back at the scene Wednesday to determine the cause and Doherty agreed it was an intense fire.
“It was going quick,” Doherty said.
The fire department got the first call at 8:12 p.m. and crews were on the scene in five minutes. By that time the fire was already fully involved.
— Campbell River Fire (@RiverCityFire) April 3, 2019
The fire originated in the house and the investigation will be focusing on the carport and a backroom, Doherty said, but no cause has been determined yet.
The fire involved a full callout by the fire department with two engines, two aerial devices and a rescue truck.
“We were in good shape for staffing,” Doherty said.
Firefighters had the fire knocked down within an hour and then spent “quite some time” subduing hot spots and “doing some overhaul.”
All of the occupants are in the care of Emergency Social Services and both homeowners had insurance. No firefighters were injured fighting the blaze.
“No injuries, just tired,” Doherty said of his team.
He also had thoughts for the homeowners.
“It’s a sad thing to see somebody lose their home but the important thing is that nobody got hurt,” he said.
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