Fast-moving fire destroys workshop, recreational vehicles in Lantzville
Investigators are looking into the cause of a blaze that destroyed a workshop as well as two recreational vehicles in Lantzville early Wednesday morning.
According to Fire Chief Neil Rukus, crews were called to the Southwind Drive home at 2:47 a.m. and found the shop couldn't be saved.
"We arrived on scene to find an approximately 20-by-30 (foot) workshop fully involved, fire through the roof,” Rukus says. “It had spread to two recreational vehicles and was spreading to the neighbour's shop and also starting to scorch onto the carriage home next door.”
He says the occupants of the home – as well as the neighbouring property, which also includes a carriage home – were all safely out of their structures.
Neighbour Julie Steward was shocked at how fast the fire was spreading.
"I smelled the smoke and then I did hear a bang,” Steward says. “This is a residential area with a lot of retired and older people. I thought it was unusual how strong it was at three o'clock in the morning."
Steward says she heard more bangs and then could see flames from her house. She immediately became concerned for her father, who was living in the carriage home near the flames.
"My neighbour's backyard was engulfed,” she says. “(I) made sure all the pets were in one room, made sure my dad was out of the cottage and made sure my neighbours were OK.”
Rukus says this fire was the first test of a new mutual-aid agreement between the Lantzville, Wellington and Nanoose fire departments. Their biggest challenge was the lack of water in the area.
"This particular area is completely un-hydranted, so we have to rely on water-tender shuttles, along with our partners and our automatic aid agreement,” he says.
Steward says her neighbours were happy nobody was injured in the fire, but they lost a significant number of items in the blaze.
"Their main water cistern and their pump, everything that they had was there,” she says. “There was motorcycles, there was RVs; it was the husband's workshop."
Steward will be contacting Lantzville's mayor to see if something can be done to bring hydrants to the area.
"A month ago, if this would have happened, these would have been like matchsticks going up,” she says. “What I witnessed and how fast a workshop went down, yeah, it was pretty scary."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.