A family in Campbell River is on their way back home after their house was gutted by an early morning fire as they dealt with a tragedy in another province.
Amateur video showed flames consuming the two-storey home on Forest Grove Drive Wednesday morning.
Some neighbours said they could smell smoke but couldn’t tell what was burning until the home burst into flames.
“I was still in bed actually and I could hear sirens, and I thought, ‘That sounds really close,’ and by the time I walked down to the corner it was fully engulfed,” said Theresa Marson. “There were huge flames coming right out of the roof, and I stood and watched for about 20 minutes and it just took that long for the house to be pretty much demolished.”
Fire crews believe the blaze was going for some time before it was first noticed.
When firefighters arrived the structure was already too unstable for them to enter.
“With the involvement here, we had to make sure the firefighters stayed outside of the collapse zone, with the potential for a collapse off the backside of the house,” said Campbell River Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Doherty.
Crews doused the home with thousands of litres of water all morning before surveying the structure to try to determine a cause.
Crews battle a massive fire that broke out at a home in Campbell River Wed., Sept. 28, 2016. (Courtesy Rylie Nornberg)
“Structural integrity is at risk here so we won’t be going inside to do any investigation so we’ll be focusing from the outside based on the statement that we’ve got,” said Doherty. “The investigation is just starting so we expect that will take a few days to conclude.”
A man connected to the family who owns the home and declined to be identified said the couple is away in Montreal, dealing with what he called a serious family matter.
He said the residents were devastated to receive word of the fire by telephone, and are cutting their trip short to travel home.
They were expected to arrive back sometime Wednesday night, and what’s left of the building will likely be brought down in the coming days.
