A home on Squamish's Raven Drive sustained "significant" damage in a structure fire late Wednesday (Feb. 23).
About 30 firefighters from the Squamish Fire Rescue Service spent several hours on a cold, windy night fighting the blaze that was first called in at around 8:30 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief Mike Adams told The Chief on Thursday (Feb. 24).
No one was injured in the blaze as the home's occupants had gotten outside before firefighters arrived, he said.
The roof and upper floor of the older two-story, wood-frame home were fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived, Adams said. Because the location of the home - just off Loggers Lane - is far from a fire hydrant, firefighters had to lay about 1,400 feet (426 metres) of hose to access the hydrant, he said.
"That was a challenge but we were able to overcome it," Adams said.
Another concern was the possibility of embers from the fire blowing on nearby homes - the nearest one was about 50 feet (15 metres) away, Adams said - blowing onto those structures and starting them on fire. Firefighting officials deployed a few workers around the area to ensure that that didn't happen, he said.
Firefighters battled the blaze from the outside of the home until they had all their resources in place, then went inside to extinguish the fire, he said.
"We had it under control in approximately an hour and we had crews on scene until approximately midnight," Adams said. "We left some crews there all night to be sure there were no flare-ups."
RCMP, B.C. Ambulance and Emergency Social Services personal also were on the scene, Adams said. The cause of the fire has not been determined by press time but early indications were that it was not suspicious, Adams said.
He also issued a reminder to homeowners about the use of wood stoves and fireplaces.
"With cold temperatures and fireplaces likely to be fired up, make sure you use caution and be vigilant when operating your fireplace," he said.
