(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)
April 17, 2014 - 10:20 AM
KAMLOOPS - A tiny town 35 kilometres east of Kamloops lost its only store in a fire last night.
Kamloops Rural RCMP responded to the fire at the Pinantan Lake Store around 11 p.m..
A tenant who resided in a suite at the location noticed smoke coming from the basement and exited the building. Though the fire spread very rapidly, the tenant and a friend went back into the suite to find two cats but fire was coming through the floor and they had to leave. The cats weren't found and it's not known if the felines made it out.
With flames at one point reaching over 50 feet high, light rain and lack of wind were welcome, keeping the fire from spreading to nearby neighbours.
Provincial fire investigators were called and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The building itself, a Pinantan Lake landmark for the past 40 years was a total loss, RCMP Cpl. Cheryl Bush said in a press release.
Members of the Pinantan East Paul Lake Fire Department Association are still waiting on construction of a fire station for the volunteer firefighters in Pinantan Lake.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
— This story was updated at 1:42 p.m. to include details from an RCMP press release.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014