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Fire

Smoke leads Vernon firefighters to the Ministry of Forests

VERNON - The Vernon Fire Department attended the scene of a fire Tuesday not knowing the Ministry of Forests set it on purpose. The B.C Wildfire Management Branch planned the controlled burn just off Highway 97 in the Predator Ridge area but didn’t give the Vernon Fire Department any notice. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair...

Firefighters investigate report of smoke at Executive House apartment complex

KELOWNA - Firefighters weren't taking any chances following a report of smoke coming from a fourth floor unit at the Executive House apartment complex this afternoon. Emergency crews were called out at roughly 3 p.m. Feb. 24. According to Kelowna Fire and Rescue Platoon Capt. Tim Light, the smoke was the result of a cigarette...

Early morning house fire leaves elderly couple homeless

PENTICTON - Fire crews arrived at a fire in Penticton early Thursday morning to find an elderly man trying to put out his burning house with a garden hose. The man and his wife, who were asleep in their home were awakened by the fire at about 4:30 a.m., Feb. 19 and managed to escape,...

Authorities evacuate residents from hazardous Enderby boarding complex

ENDERBY - Eleven people, including as many as four children, have been displaced after authorities issued a do not occupy order on the building. Kevin Alstad, local assistant to the Fire Commissioner for the City of Enderby, described the building as “a hazard requiring the immediate removal of the occupants for their own safety.” In...

Apartment fire puts occupants in the care of Emergency Social Services

KELOWNA - The occupants of an apartment on Glenview Avenue are in the care of Emergency Social Services today after fire early yesterday evening left their unit uninhabitable. Steve Wallick, a platoon captain with the Kelowna Fire Department, said firefighters responded in force to what turned out to be a grease fire in the kitchen...

Why a fire in Rutland could have been a lot worse

KELOWNA — Firefighters put out a structure fire in Rutland last night that could have been a lot worse. Kelowna Fire Department was called to the blaze in the 400 block of Rutland Road North overnight and found smoke and flames coming from a six-plex multi-family home. Platoon Capt. Tim Light says they managed to...

Firefighters douse flames at Kelowna hotel

KELOWNA — Firefighters knocked down a blaze in an out-building of a Kelowna hotel but say they don't know how it started. Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, Kelowna Fire Department got numerous calls about a fire at Kelowna Inn and Suites. They found flames coming from the roof of a pool building. It wasn't...

Name of Chase fire victim released by B.C. Coroners Service

CHASE - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the name of a woman who died in a mobile home fire in Chase. She was Sherry Leah Skjeie, 53, from Chase. Emergency services attended Skjeie's home in the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. Skjeie was found deceased after...

RCMP: Chase woman’s death in fire not crime-related

KAMLOOPS – RCMP investigators in Chase say they don’t believe the trailer fire which claimed a woman’s life on Jan. 16 was crime-related. “We have absolutely no information that it’s criminal,” Sgt. Gary Heebner said Monday, Jan. 19. Heebner added that the Fire Commissioner out of Victoria and fire investigators from Surrey have conducted a...

Vernon RCMP investigate suspicious fire

VERNON - Police are following up on a suspicious dumpster bin fire. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says it appears someone set cardboard on fire inside a dumpster around 6:45 p.m. Jan. 17 in the 2300 block of 36 Avenue. Several people noticed the fire, but no one saw who started it. There was no damage...

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,...

World famous photographer loses Kelowna cabin to fire

KELOWNA – A luxury cabin in Ellison that burned to the ground over the weekend belongs to world-renowned photographer and inventor Gary Fong. Fong, a former musician and wedding photographer, is also the inventor of several popular lighting systems and an instructional website many professionals around the world consider the gold standard. His best known...

Kelowna garage damaged by fire

KELOWNA - Crews arriving at the scene of a residential garage fire were greeted by heavy black smoke early Monday evening. The Kelowna Fire Department was called to Carruthers Street around 6:15 p.m., Jan. 12, and while they were able to quickly extinguish the fire the interior of the garage was already destroyed. In total...

Kelowna family homeless after grease fire

KELOWNA – A family of five find themselves without a place to live after a grease fire in their half of a Kelowna duplex this afternoon, Jan. 10. Kelowna Fire Rescue got the call around 3:30 p.m. about smoke and flames visible at a home at 645 Hollydell Rd. in Rutland. Platoon captain Kelly Stephens...

Alarm fails when fire catches in Vernon home

VERNON - Fire forced three Vernon women out of their home in the middle of the night. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says the smell of smoke in their 33 Street residence woke them up around 12:30 a.m. this morning, Jan. 9. “They were very lucky they woke up,” Blair says. “It could’ve been a...

Three people, two pets homeless after West Kelowna fire

WEST KELOWNA – Three people and two animals are safe despite their home in West Kelowna catching fire late Thursday night. West Kelowna Fire Rescue were called to the 3100 block of Country Pines Way around midnight. Firefighters were able to contain the fire, however the house was severely damaged. The three occupants and their...

Cause of motel fire undetermined

PENTICTON - The investigation into last week's fire at the Pass Motor Inn in Penticton won't offer the answers interested parties are looking for. After a thorough inspection of the burned-out unit in which the fire began Penticton fire inspector Mike Richards reported this week the fire department was unable to determine the exact cause...

NEWSMAKERS 2014: String of arsons go down as worst in recent memory

THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF THE YEAR. TODAY: NUMBER THREE VERNON - Authorities called it the worst fire-setting spree in recent memory, and with the close of 2014, we still don’t know who’s responsible. Over 20 fires were set across the city this past year, beginning in late spring...

UPDATE: Police investigating fire at Pass Motor Inn

PET BELIEVED DEAD IN FIRE PENTICTON - Penticton firefighters battled a blaze that broke out last night at the Pass Motor Inn, located at  2307 Skaha Lake Road. Firefighters were called to the scene at roughly 8:30 p.m., Dec. 30, according to a media release from RCMP. The building was evacuated while firefighters worked to...

Small furnace fire quickly snuffed

KELOWNA — Residents at a home on Cook Road managed to keep a furnace fire at bay with their own fire extinguisher before fire crews arrived to put it out. Platoon Capt. Steve Wallick says they were called to the scene in the 600 block last night, Dec. 29. They extinguished the blaze and ventilated...

Fire at Vernon restaurant deemed suspicious

VERNON - Police and the Vernon Fire Department are looking into the cause of a suspicious fire at the New Delhi Restaurant in Vernon. Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood says the fire started inside the building sometime before 3:15 a.m. when the building’s sprinkler system went off and triggered an alarm. Firefighters forced their way...

Firefighters called to apartment fire on De Montreuil Crt.

KELOWNA - Residents were evacuated when a fire broke out in a second floor apartment at 3175 De Montreuil Crt. in Kelowna Monday afternoon. Shortly after 1 p.m. Dec. 8, 2014 firefighters received a call about the fire at Willowbrook Gardens. When they arrived they found a mattress was in open flame in a bedroom...

Suspicious fire at Kelowna care home

KELOWNA – Staff and residents at a Kelowna care home in the Mission were forced to evacuate Saturday after a small, deliberately set fire. Kelowna Fire Rescue received an alarm from the White Heather Care Home at 3728 Casorso Rd. The small fire in the activity room was put out by the building’s sprinkler system...