Local firefighters have been kept very busy, responding to five fires so far this month — two of them since last
Thursday, December 15.
At 8:54 pm on that evening Revelstoke Fire Rescue Service responded to a 911 call of a residential structure fire at a rooming house in the 500 block of Third Street East.
“Upon arrival, fire crews quickly actioned an interior wall on fire,” Fire Chief Rob Girard said in a statement. “All six occupants of the residence were out of the rooming house when fire crews first arrived on scene.”
Firefighters, who came with t2o fire trucks, extinguished and overhauled the fire in just under 45 minutes with no injuries to any of the 15 responding fire personnel.
The tenants deployed two fire extinguishers and this slowed the fire from spreading into the rest of the home. ESS assisted the occupants with temporary housing.
As to the cause of this fire, the Girard said it appeared as though an energized hot plate ignited nearby combustibles.
Then on Sunday, December 18, firefighters responded to a 911 call that came in at 10:11 am about a residential structure fire in the 1600 block of Nelson Road in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.
“Upon arrival fire crews attacked the fire that was confined to a an adjacent wood furnace and the surrounding structure,” Girard said in a news statement. “Early detection by the owner who was home at the time prevented this from being a fully involved structure fire; but we were within minutes of that transition. It was a tricky fire for our crews as this residence is at the outer limits of our Fire Protection Area within the CSRD where there are no fire hydrants.”
He said a “quick response and fast initial attack” gave firefighters the edge they needed to extinguish and overhaul the fire in just under an hour with no injuries to any of the 15 responding fire personnel.
The Fire Rescue Service department responded with to that 911 call with two fire trucks, water tender No. 5 and 1 command vehicle.
The chief indicated that the fire was related to a non-code-compliant wood furnace and a lack of cleaning. Because the fire is within the CSRD, it may be further investigated with the CSRD Fire Services Coordinator. He also noted that the new construction was wired for smoke alarms but they never were installed.
Girard said everyone should have a working smoke alarm in their residence.
“it’s a sound we all can live with,” he said, adding that all residents should perform their own “residential safety audits” by:
- Testing their smoke alarms;
- Checking that they have CO detectors and a fire extinguisher;
- Checking that they are not overloading electrical receptacles and are using electrical power bars;
- Checking that they their wood and pellet stove chimneys are regularly inspected; and, because it’s cold outside
- They are very careful with any space heaters and candles.
“If you do a home safety audit today in your home… it could save your life or the life of a loved one,” he said.
