Fire erupts at home in BX neighbourhood

VERNON – Firefighters battled flames and thick smoke after a grease fire erupted in a Vernon kitchen Friday afternoon.

BX-Swan Lake fire chief Bill Wacey says it appears the homeowner was cooking falafel in her Pearson Road home when the fire started around 4 p.m. Jan 16.

“We had smoke pouring out of the house, the kitchen was fully engulfed at the time,” Wacey says.

The woman was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. Neighbours say they heard plates breaking in the heat shortly after the fire started. The exterior of the home is scorched and windows are shattered.

“There’s pretty serious damage throughout most of the house,” Wacey says. “There’s a few rooms that have been saved.”

Firefighters expect it will be close to 7 p.m. by the time they wrap up at the scene.

RCMP and B.C. Hydro also attended.

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

—This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 16 to include further details about the fire.