Local News

Fire officials say they are still working on the cause of the fire which started around 5:30 this morning from a downstairs bedroom located at 923 Begby Drive.

_{Photo: VernonCentral staff}

“There was a family of three that lived on the main floor, and there were two people who lived in the basement suite.  There was considerable damage.  Thankfully, everybody got out safely along with all the pets,” said Deputy Fire Chief Laurie Skolrood.

A dog owned by one of the residents in the basement suite alerted the family by licking her face which in turn woke the slumbering residents.

Smoke alarms located both upstairs and down awoke the family of three in the upstairs portion of the home.

Skolrood said the fire proved challenging as the large home added to its complexity.

“Fires which creep into spaces in the roof make it particularly difficult to get to.  With a big house there’s lots of places where fire can hide,” he said.

Flames started in the basement suite bedroom and moved up the side of the home to the roof where it travelled into an upper floor bedroom.

Crews were on scene for about three hours and took approximately 30 minutes to suppress the flames in the Middleton Mountain location.

“This reinforces the need to have working smoke alarms in your home,” said Skolrood.  “These ones that start at night are always a concern for losing people while they’re sleeping,” he added.

One third of the home was burned while the remainder was extensively damaged by smoke and heat in the fire.  Officials are continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze.