A smouldering shell of a home is all that’s left after a massive fire erupted in Brentwood Bay early Tuesday morning.
Crews were called to Kristin Place in the Central Saanich neighbourhood at around 3:30 a.m. for a report of a deck and tree fire.
They arrived to find a home fully engulfed by flames.
“We had to go defensive at that point, we weren’t sending anybody in,” said Central Saanich Fire Deputy Chief Rob Nelson.
Crews attacked the blaze from outside, desperate to keep it from spreading to surrounding trees in the property’s backyard.
A steel roof complicated things as firefighters struggled to get to the flames.
“Just the size of the fire and the construction of the house with the steel roof over top of the existing roof, it just made it very hard to get in there and get to the fire once it was in the attic,” Nelson said.
Fire crews from Sidney and North Saanich were also called to the scene. About 25 firefighters battled the blaze, Nelson said.
Four people in the home managed to escape safely with their pets, and no one was injured.
Fire investigators were spending Tuesday combing over the wreckage to try to find out how the fire was sparked.
The home appears to be a total loss.
Anyone who witnessed anything or has information about the fire is asked to call Central Saanich Police at 250-652-4441.
