Penticton firefighters pull unconscious man from burning motel room

A 51-year-old man was rushed to Penticton Regional Hospital after he was pulled unconscious from a burning South Okanagan motel on Monday afternoon.

Capt. Wes Swaren with the Penticton Fire Department said crews responded to a report of a structure fire at the Ogopogo motel on Riverside Drive in Penticton shortly after 11:00 am.

View image in full screen

“When we got on scene we had smoke showing from the front of the building,” he said.

https://twitter.com/Shelby_Thom/status/1214283720670076929

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We made entry and removed an occupant and they’ve been transported to hospital.”

The motel’s manager, Rob Conley, told Global News the fire victim had barricaded himself inside the unit before flames erupted.

He wasn’t able to access the unit and doused the blaze from the exterior of the building with a fire extinguisher.

Swaren said the cause of the fire is under investigation and contents in the motel room were destroyed by the blaze, but the fire was contained to the single unit.

2:25 Penticton fire chief returns from Bahamas