A 40-year-old woman has been hospitalized in Vancouver and is listed in serious condition after firefighters rescued her from an early morning mobile home fire near Powell River Airport. The woman's two dogs died in the fire.
A Powell River RCMP officer on patrol in the neighbourhood reported the fire on the 7600 block of Duncan Street and called for assistance at 6:30 am on Tuesday, May 2.
Heavy smoke inside the residence prevented the officer from entering to locate any people trapped inside, according to police. Neighbours informed first responders that there may be a woman inside.
Eyewitness Jeff Leggat, who works at a nearby restaurant, arrived at the home minutes after the police.
“The flames were rising out of the back and smoke was pouring out of all the windows and doors when I got there,” he said.
Leggat said he watched as the firefighters arrived and entered through the back of the home. When they came out, they were carrying a woman. He added that she did not appear to be conscious and the firefighters brought her over to the ambulance, which left immediately.
Neighbours were also concerned about the two dogs who lived there, he said.
“The smoke was so thick inside,” he said. “There was no barking.”
According to police, the woman has limited mobility and was flown to Vancouver by air ambulance.
Powell River Fire Rescue deputy chief Rocky Swanson said rescuers found the woman laying on the floor with only a wall between her and the home’s master bedroom, where everything had ignited and the temperature had reached over 1,000 °C. Once they carried her out, they returned inside to knock the fire down, he said.
Swanson said on Thursday, May 4, that he has completed his investigation of the fire’s cause, but it cannot be determined with certainty. He said he thought it started in the home’s master bedroom and that it was not considered suspicious in origin.
Swanson added that he was impressed by his crew’s training and credited the department’s additional member, added by City of Powell River last year, for the successful rescue.
"I have never seen a rescue successful like that one," he said. “It was just incredible.”
