Investigation continues after blaze destroys North Okanagan home

A blaze that left a Coldstream family without a home yesterday is not believed to have been started from criminal activity.

Witnesses began to report smoke and flames coming from a home on Cherry Lane in Coldstream, Nov. 6, shortly after 9:30 a.m.

By the time firefighters arrived at the scene, the house was fully involved, said Coldstream Fire Chief Fiona Morgenthaler-Code. They were dispatched at 9:41 a.m. and began receiving multiple calls.

“Once we got up Middleton you could definitely see the black smoke. It was confirmed very early on that the homeowners were out of the house.”

Three people lived at the property and one dog was saved. Another dog and cat are still missing and presumed dead, Morgenthaler-Code said.

“We commenced with an exterior attack,” she said, adding their biggest concern was the fire affecting a neighbouring home, which sustained minor damage.

“At one point we had about 25 firefighters on scene,” she said, adding Lavington Fire Rescue was also called in.

It took firefighters less than hour to gain control of the blaze and the rest of the house had to be knocked down for fear it would collapse.

“It smoolders but then you end up with hot spots because stuff has collapsed in on itself and there’s still fuel to burn. In reality, some of these can smoulder for days just because of all the debris.”

Home construction also impacts how fast a structure burns.

A fire investigator is on scene but they don’t suspect the cause is criminal in nature.

“Other than that, we haven’t done enough of an investigation yet to lean to a cause,” Morgenthaler-Code said.

This incident was not the biggest fire the department attended this year. Morgenthaler-Code said firefighters will respond to a fully-involved house fire a few times a year.

The homeowners are being assisted by their insurance, she said. A GoFundMe started by neighbours yesterday has already raised more than $18,000 for the family. The GoFundMe organizers could not be reached for comment.

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