Fire at West Kelowna townhouse complex could have been much worse

WEST KELOWNA – Fire crews had a tough fight on their hands when they were called to a vehicle fire in a carport next to a duplex in a townhouse complex in West Kelowna last night.

When firefighters arrived at the complex near Witt Road at about 8 p.m., April 3, both the van and the carport were fully engulfed in flames.

West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund says the fire was spreading to the duplex it was parked next to.

“The concern for us was this unit was in a complex with other dwellings all very close together,” he says. “Crews knocked down the fire very fast and contained it, essentially to the carport, but with some minor smoke damage to two of the units in the duplex.”

The three people living in the duplex are being looked after by Emergency Support Services, formerly called Emergency Social Service.

He points out working smoke detectors alerted the residents and they were able to get out safely.

Brolund figures about $75,000 damage was done to the duplex and carport

He says the investigation into the cause of the fire hasn’t been finalized, but “it certainly is pointing towards an issued with the van.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 11:06 a.m., Saturday, April 4, 2015 to include more details from the West Kelowna fire chief.