Wildfire smoke may have been cause of apartment fire

The Penticton Fire Department believe a small fire in an apartment building last night was caused by a dirty filter in a HVAC unit.

Firefighters were called to an apartment building on Warren Avenue on Thursday evening but got the fire, which was contained to the HVAC unit, quickly under control leaving mainly smoke and water damage to the apartment.

Deputy fire chief Chris Forster said they are still investigating the cause, but it appears to be due to an issue with the filter.

“With the heavy wildfire smoke we saw these past few weeks it is a good reminder for people to change out their filters. With dust it can take a long time for it to build up and actually cause a fire, however with the heavy smoke there is a lot of particulate in it that can build up easily in those filters,” said Forster.

No one was injured in the fire.

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