A fire that nearly destroyed a home on Lightbody Court in Mission appears to have started outside on the back patio.
Mission Fire Rescue Services were called to the blaze on Sunday afternoon at about 12:50 p.m. The original call stated that the home was fully engulfed with people trapped inside.
However, Mission Fire Chief Dale Unrau said no one was in the building when firefighters arrived and there were no significant injuries to report.
“The occupants were home at the time of the fire. There were a couple of people taken to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation and, as far as I know, they were treated and released,” said Unrau, adding there was a bit of confusion when the call originally came in as the tenants in the home were caught by surprise by the flames.
“The time they first noticed it, I think, was when the window to the dining room broke and the fire actually came inside.
“There were a number of people home at the time but not everybody was accounted for so when fire crews first arrived on scene, they did a very quick search of the upper floor before the ceiling began to collapse,” said Unrau.
Firefighters confirmed that no one was in the building.
The missing family member was later found to have gone to church before the blaze began.
None of the firefighters were injured battling the blaze.
“They did a great job to keep the fire within the building of origin, and there was only minor siding damage to the houses on either side,” said Unrau.
While the fire department doesn’t have 100 per cent determination on the cause of the fire, the suspected area of origin is on the back deck of the home, judging from the damage.
“That’s where it becomes much more evident that the fire was outside on the deck and basically would have gone right up the vinyl siding and into the soffits and into the roof structure,” said Unrau.
The home has suffered serious damage, including the fact that the majority of the roof is missing.
“The lower floor is fully intact other than the water damage that will be inside. The upper structure, the kitchen and dining room area etc. and the complete roof are totaled.”
According to Unrau, the home owner does have fire insurance on the building. However, the tenants did not have insurance for their belongings.
“Our ESS (Emergency Support Service) is looking after assisting them with some initial needs.”
