Victoria fire crews spent the night battling a blaze at an abandoned heritage house more than a century old.
Crews were called to a 115-year-old home at the intersection of Quamichan Street and Foul Bay Road at around 12:30 a.m. Monday after neighbours spotted smoke in the area.
The main floor of the house was fully engulfed by flames when they arrived, according to Deputy Chief Chris Royal.
“It was a very difficult fire. It was an abandoned building which had been boarded up, which posed several challenges for our crews,” he said.
Crews were challenged to get water into the building, and because of its balloon framing flames quickly spread from the first to the second floor.
That meant some 25 firefighters had to attack the blaze from the outside of the building, which took about three hours, according to Royal.
Four fire engines and two ladder trucks were called out to assist.
All neighbouring properties were protected and the fire was contained to the abandoned home.
There were still several hotspots as of Monday afternoon, Royal said.
The home, which he said had been abandoned for “quite some time,” suffered significant damage.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and it’s unclear whether officials consider it to be suspicious.
