PENTICTON — It’s an unlikely recipe for a fire: a pile of leaves and a faulty light bulb. But that was the source of a blaze that nearly burned down a Penticton motel.
It happened at the Swiss Sunset Inn on Skaha Lake Road just before 11 p.m. Tuesday.
The local fire chief says an outdoor fluorescent light bulb exploded and the hot sparks landed on a pile of dry leaves.
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The flames quickly engulfed a vinyl shed and destroyed all of its contents.
The fire continued to spread to a second shed and was starting to scorch the side of the motel when fire fighters managed to contain the flames.
“It could’ve been a lot worse, had it been another few more minutes, it would’ve made its way into the roof area and it would’ve been a totally different story for us,” said Penticton Fire Chief Wayne Williams.
Four rooms sustained smoke damage. Fortunately, there were no guests in those rooms at that time.
Fire officials are unsure what caused the light bulb to explode.
The safety authority and the motel’s insurance company will be investigating.
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