UPDATE: Electricity ‘likely cause’ of West Kelowna home fire

UPDATE: West Kelowna Fire Rescue says electricity is the chief suspect for a fire that partially ravaged a home this morning.

According to the fire dept., calls came in at 7 a.m. of smoke billowing out of charred windows from a home on Sageview Road. When firefighters arrived, the home was unoccupied, with fire burning in the basement and garage. The fires were extinguished, but the basement was severely damaged, as were cars in the garage, which included a Tesla.

“The fire remains under investigation, but the preliminary cause and origin appears electrical in nature,” the fire dept. said. “The fire is not considered suspicious at this time, and it is not known if the owner has insurance.”

The fire dept. added that there were no pets in the single-family home.

In all, 11 firefighters responded to the blaze, along with three fire engines. One firefighters was reported to have suffered minor, undisclosed injuries.

Original story:

West Kelowna fire fighters saved the day after putting out a house fire early this morning.

The fire broke out at around 7 o’clock at a residence on Sageview Road — west of Shannon Lake.

Smoke was coming from the home when crews arrived.

“A neighbour had called it in — reported that the windows were charred and there was some smoke coming from it. There was nobody home at the time were told. We made entry into the structure and found what looks like a smouldering fire. We’re still very much in suppression mode and we’ll be doing a full investigation once we knock the fire down,” said assistant chief Brent Watson.

Of note, the garage contained a Tesla — an electric car.