Fire crews in Penticton, B.C., were called to a massive structure fire late Wednesday evening.
The city said fire and emergency crews were called to the construction site for the 48,000-square-foot, three-storey wood-frame building at 453 Green Ave. at 10:12 p.m.
The site was going to be a long-term care home, with space for 200 beds.
Fire crews arrived within six minutes, with assistance from Summerland, Naramata, Penticton Indian Band and Kaleden.
The city said it was escalated to a third-alarm fire by 10:22 p.m.
A total of 60 firefighters responded.
“This incident required a rapid, coordinated response, and crews acted quickly to limit further damage and protect surrounding homes,” Mike Larsson, the Penticton fire chief, said in a statement.
“While significant progress has been made, there are still active fire areas on site. The unstable crane remains a key hazard and continues to affect suppression efforts. Our focus remains on maintaining safety for both residents and responders.”
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In total, 16 homes had to be evacuated due to the fire, four were damaged and 12 remain evacuated due to an unstable crane structure on the property.
There are no known injuries at this time, according to the city.
In addition, six spot fires were identified and contained after embers travelled several blocks from the main fire.
“The flames were extremely high, and embers were flying everywhere,” Larsson said.
He added that at this stage, there is no indication to suggest the fire was suspicious.
Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield told Global News that it is disappointing that the future care home went up in flames.
“It was approved by council from the beginning of this year, and you know this site has gone through two or three different development applications, and we were very happy to see this application go through and then come to reality, starting to come to reality, because it’s, you know, it’s a much needed service within the community,” he said.
B.C.’s Health Minister, Josie Osborne, said she was devastated to hear the news that a future long-term care home had burned down.
“I know just how needed these long-term care beds are in the Penticton area,” she said.
“And so for anybody who is on the waitlist right now and was really anticipating being able to move into this site when it was scheduled to be ready in 2028, I believe, very, very devastating news.”
Osborne added that Minister of Infrastructure Bowen Ma will be looking at what can be done to restart the project.
I smell a rat, maybe next time ,prefab concrete ?
🤔 18-25 year old m…l i m named??
Probably started by spontaneous combustion because we all know homeless people would never do such a thing