A large fire broke out at a residence in Oliver, B.C., Wednesday evening, severely damaging the home and destroying four vehicles.
Officials said there was extensive damage to the west portion of the house, as well as smoke and water damage to other portions.
“We were very scared as the flames were just pouring out the windows to the direction of our house. It was very scary,” said neighbour Donna Baldwin who witnessed the fire.
Thursday morning, the devastation was clearly visible.
The fire department said everyone was safely evacuated from the home, as well as the house next door. No one was injured.
“There was a member of the family home at the time. They were notified of the fire by a person passing by and they vacated the home,” said Oliver fire department spokesperson Rob Graham.
“The home next to it as well was vacated due to the fire, smoke and the heat.”
Crews were able to prevent neighboring homes from catching fire, but Baldwin’s home did experience some damage.
“Some wires burnt and our Telus box is burnt, and we have to check out the siding to make sure it is all OK. But these people lost all four vehicles and their house, I feel bad for them,” said Baldwin.
The Oliver fire department says they were called out to the home on Merlot Avenue just before 6 p.m. When crews arrived, they found the garage and top floor fully engulfed in flames.
Approximately 25 fire personnel were on scene for two hours before the fire could be extinguished. However, crews were called back to the home later that night.
“Approximately two hours later the fire rekindled, and we were called back to put some more fire out that was still burning in the roof that wasn’t present when we were on scene,” said Graham.
Freezing temperatures made battling the fire even more challenging for crews.
“We did get the roads wet which started to freeze on us. With guys working inside and exterior work with water, they’re getting wet, and their gear starts to freeze up,” added Graham.
“Especially with self-contained breathing apparatuses as their bottles and regulators start freeze up it starts to limit their air capacity as well.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but at this time officials are not considering the fire to be suspicious.
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