Bernard Avenue house fire leaves residents homeless

ONE OF TWO CATS SAVED

KELOWNA – Dark smoke poured from the basement suite as Kelowna fire fighters battled a house fire on Bernard Sunday morning.

The man living in the main floor suite greeted crews has they arrived at the fire at 1290 Bernard Ave., a couple block west of Gordon Drive, at around 9:58 a.m. He told them the person living in the basement wasn’t home and that everyone else was out of the house.

Fire fighters found a fire in garbage can on a couch and put it out.

They had a look around for two cats they were told were inside the home.

The first cat they found was rushed outside and given oxygen. It survived, but the second cat fire fighters found couldn’t be revived.

The blaze was contained to the basement suite. The rest of the house sustained smoke damage. No damage estimate has been provided.

The residents were offered help through Emergency Social Services, which was turned down. They said they were going to stay with friends.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“The upstairs resident was alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm,” platoon captain Lawrence Serres said. “It helped minimize the damage the fire caused.”

Both occupants had insurance.