‘Discarded smoking material’ sparks West Kelowna fire

A fire sparked Thursday night in a wooden planter on a balcony of a West Kelowna apartment building is believed to have been caused accidentally.

Assistant fire chief Brent Watson said the fire department was called to 2250 Majoros Rd. at 7 p.m. Thursday Crews found sparks and open flame coming from a third-floor balcony.

0:55 Fire starts along Westside Road in West Kelowna

“The fire was quickly knocked down with a hose stream directed up to the balcony from the parking lot on the ground floor,” Watson said in a media release. “Crews then entered the building to attack the fire from the inside, but encountered a locked door to the vacant unit which they had to breach.”

Once on the balcony, Watson said crews found and extinguished a large wooden planter box that was still smouldering.

2:36 One family home destroyed in West Kelowna in Mt. Law wildfire

There was no damage to the building itself, aside from some smoke in the third-floor hallway that was cleared with fire department fans.

“The fire appears to be accidental, likely caused by improperly discarded smoking material,” he said. “There were no injuries and all residents are now back in the building.”

2:05 Private hazmat team investigates odour