A fire in Wildwood destroyed a home and damaged some adjoining buildings and vehicles.
Powell River Fire Rescue deputy chief Rocky Swanson said the 911 call came in at 11:02 pm on April 21 regarding a home on Skeena Street. Crews were deployed from Wildwood and the main fire hall in Westview.
“The 911 calls indicated that this fire was fully involved,” said Swanson. “When we arrived on scene, that’s precisely what we saw, a fully involved, two-storey wood-frame structure. Everybody was out.”
Swanson said a van beside the structure was also fully involved and an RV was burning.
“There was a small shed with propane tanks that were taking off,” he added. “There were houses on either side that also sustained damage. The house was destroyed and it is going to be condemned.”
Swanson said it’s very fortunate everybody made it out of the burning structure unharmed, given the intensity of the fire.
“It burned very fast so the fact the people got out was incredible,” he added.
Swanson said fighting this fire was really hard work. The building has a metal roof and it can be exceptionally hard to get water at the right angles to extinguish the flames, he added.
He said the building was too involved with fire to send firefighters inside.
“I was very concerned that it may have collapsed,” said Swanson.
In addition to fighting the burning building, Swanson said firefighters were actively involved in protecting the adjoining residences. He said had the fire burned longer before the fire department arrived, damage to the neighbouring houses could have been extensive.
“It was basically a surround and drown exercise,” said Swanson.
One firefighter was taken to hospital for a precautionary check. Swanson said after using two to three cylinders of air, firefighters have to have their vital signs checked by emergency health services. If heart rate or blood pressure does not go down to normal, then the firefighter has to be checked by a doctor.
“We sent one very experienced firefighter to hospital and he was back at the scene, probably within an hour,” said Swanson. “There were no injuries.”
Swanson said the response from other agencies was excellent. He said RCMP were on scene immediately, as was emergency health services. BC Hydro came and disconnected power lines, which was absolutely important, because the lines were about to melt through, said Swanson. FortisBC also attended, but no gas lines were found.
“As dangerous as that scene was, everything worked the way it was supposed to work,” said Swanson. “It was a good team effort.”
Swanson said it probably took a couple of hours to get the fire under control, which means forward progress of the fire had ceased.
“We just surrounded it and stuck as much water in the windows as we could,” said Swanson.
He said he’s deeply proud of the fire department for its response. He added that it’s not often that firefighters see these levels of fire when they arrive on scene.
Swanson said the investigation has started. There is not a known cause of the fire and the point of origin is unclear. The house was badly damaged and Powell River Fire Rescue cannot enter the house yet without clearance from a structural engineer.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to support the affected families.
