A house fire in Lake Country, B.C., has displaced six people, with four of them scrambling to quickly leave the burning residence on Tuesday morning.
According to the Lake Country Fire Department, four of the six people were home when the owner woke up at approximately 5:30 a.m. to a fire on the deck, which reportedly had been burning for some time.
Deputy fire chief Brent Penner told Global News it was a hard fire to fight because of the home’s configuration, leading to concerns that parts of the home could collapse, so a decision was made to fight it from the outside.
The homeowner told Global News that the downstairs suite’s two residents were away at the time, with firefighters rescuing two cats from the downstairs suite. Two dogs were also rescued, but two cats are missing.
The fire’s cause is suspected to be electrical.
The fire was hot and big enough that it melted siding on a neighbour’s home. The fire department commended neighbours for battling the fire’s possible spread with garden hoses until emergency crews arrived.
It took approximately two hours to contain the fire.
Emergency services are reportedly looking after the residents.