Lumby fire chief requests residents display addresses following mobile home blaze

LUMBY – Lumby firefighters ran into a snag Saturday responding to a report of a house fire; none of the properties had address signs.

Without house numbers on rural Albers Road, off Mabel Lake Road in Lumby, crews had a harder time finding their destination.

Lumby fire chief Tony Clayton says it only cost them about five minutes, but in a fire, every second counts.

When crews arrived shortly after 6 p.m., smoke was billowing out from an addition built onto a mobile home in the 300 block of Albers Road.

“The neighbours did a good job holding it with garden hoses until we got there,” Clayton says.

Crews were forced to limit their attack until B.C. Hydro arrived to cut the power. Firefighters were on scene around three hours before the fire was fully extinguished. The home sustained extensive smoke damage but little fire damage.

The lone resident got out safely and is being supported by Emergency Social Services. Clayton says the home might be salvageable.

Clayton is asking residents of Albers Road to display house numbers.

“It’s really important to have those address signs,” Clayton says. “This was in the day but at nighttime it would be even more difficult.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.