Fire Chief Brett Ogino is grateful Sicamous, Malakwa and Swansea Point firefighters didn’t let Monday’s heat allow a bad blaze to get out of hand.
On July 22, at around 1:30 p.m., Sicamous firefighters were called out to an unoccupied Larch Avenue residence.
Ogino says the spartan Sicamous crew arrived to find the attached garage/car port fully engulfed, with flames spreading up the side of the residence towards the attic. Firefighters were able to control the blaze, he says, but not before it did some damage inside the house, as well as to a shed behind the place.There was also some heat damage to a neighbouring residence.
“I think, overall, the crews did an amazing job of keeping the fire from burning down the whole place,” said Ogino. “Yesterday had to be probably the hottest day of the year so far, and we had very low manpower on the scene. We were fortunate that Malakwa and Swansea Point came out as mutual aid, and that was very helpful to get the extra bodies out there.”
Ogino is also grateful for the assistance received from others at the scene, who volunteered their help to battle the fire.
“We actually had a firefighter from Enderby who was a huge help to our crews,” said Ogino. “Because he’s a fire guy, he understood what we needed and where we needed help.”
The crews were mostly done with the fire by 5 p.m., though some firefighters kept the site secure overnight and into Tuesday.
The fire chief is calling the blaze “somewhat suspicious.” In April 2012, police uncovered a marijuana grow operation at the address. Ogino says there was hedge fire at the same location back in October.
“So it’s a location of some activity for nobody living there,” said Ogino.
Sicamous RCMP currently have a different view on the matter.
“The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the house is empty and our enquiries around there didn’t suggest anyone was running from the fire,” said Sgt. Dave Dubnyk. “So, at this stage, we’re not treating it as suspicious. But if that changes based on the Fire Commissioner’s office investigation, we’ll get more involved.”
Ogino says the much of the investigation is already complete and, while there are some ideas as to what may have caused the fire, the extent of the damage makes it difficult to determine what actually sparked the blaze. Though the home is still standing, the damage from the fire, and the firefighting effort, was extensive. He couldn’t say if the structure is salvageable.
“It looked like a fairly extensive renovation; there was new siding, new roofing, new appliances… it looked like they were getting ready to do something with the place. It’s unfortunate,” said Ogino.