Cigarette may have caused Summerland house fire

A Summerland mother and her two children fled their home early Wednesday morning when a fire broke out on the second floor deck.

Neighbours say it was at 3:30 a.m. when they heard fire trucks arrive at the house on Sumac Ridge Drive. One man rushed outside and saw smoke rising from above the structure.

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“I think the alarm went off but the lady smelled smoke over there and got the kids out,” said neighbor Derek Chudyk. “Her husband is working out of town. She got the kids and loaded them up and hauled them down the driveway.”

Fire crews quickly doused the flames but the house suffered fire, smoke and water damage.

Investigators say a cigarette in a flower planter on the deck may have started the blaze.

The family is renting the Summerland home. The mother tells CHBC News that she did not see any sign of smoke or fire when she locked up the house before midnight.