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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.