A house in Victoria that's registered as a national historic site was gutted by fire Tuesday night.
The lone occupant of the home was reading in bed when he discovered the fire and called 911. Fire crews responded to the heritage home on Robert Street in the Vic West neighbourhood at 8:40 pm for reports of a fully involved fire.
Upon arrival, fire crews began to fight the fire from the outside then attempted to gain control of the fire with an interior attack. The fire was too intense and the fire crews had to vacate the house.
“There was a significant fuel load both inside and outside the structure and obviously the heritage home [had] a lot of wood features inside the home, a lot of combustibles, so the fire was deeply seeded and fully involved upon our arrival,” said Victoria Fire Department deputy chief Dan Atkinson.
The cause of the fire at 223 Robert St. is still under investigation but is not considered suspicious.
“It’s a shame, absolutely," Atkinson said. "I’ve had an opportunity to look in some of the windows, and obviously a lot of the architectural features and the finishing in there is stunning. It is a significant loss for sure.”
According to the Victoria Heritage Foundation, the home was completed in 1904 and was designated a national historic site in 1991 as an example of the transition between Victorian and Edwardian versions of the Queen Anne architectural style.
