Smoke was seen pouring from the windows of a home in Rutland along Wigglesworth Crescent on Monday afternoon.
Kelowna crews were called to reports of a fire coming from a duplex on the street at approximately 3:18 p.m.
Platoon Captain Kelly Stephens said upon arriving, crews extinguished a fire in the home coming from the kitchen. Despite the swift response, Stephens said extensive damage occurred at the property.
Stephens confirmed that no residents were home at either residence at the time of the fire.
One cat and one dog were saved from the blaze but Stephens said an unknown number of birds, mice, gerbils and geckos that were in the building died due to the smoke.
Jennifer Stone, a property owner of the neigbouring duplex in the house where the fire occurred, said she’s still unknown of the extent of the damage in the house.
“When I got home, all I could see was smoke coming out from the top of the house,” she said.
“It looks like they have massive damage outside of their house. I don’t know of the damage that’s inside my house yet or when they’ll let us back in.”
Stephens said the cause is unknown at this time and will be investigated. He said the cause of the fire however is not deemed suspicious.
In total, 21 fire personnel, three RCMP vehicles and two fire trucks responded to the scene.
— Connor Trembley (@ConnorTrembley) November 5, 2019
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