UPDATE: Early morning fire in Kelowna leaves eight homeless

UPDATE: Investigators say the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette. The smoke alarms in the house didn’t activate, but all occupants were able to escape safely.

KELOWNA — What started as a couch fire in a carport quickly spread to a two alarm blaze. It sparked at around 1 a.m. Friday morning in a duplex carport in the 1200 block of Graham Street. Crews managed to contain the flames to one side of the building.

Eight people and a dog who live in the duplex have been displaced and are in the hands of Emergency Social Services.

What caused the fire is still under investigation. Fire investigators will be on scene sifting through debris to try and figure out how the blaze started.