A house fire on Commonage Place in Vernon, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, is seen in this photo posted to Facebook.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK / Samantha Mikowski
August 29, 2019 - 11:42 AM
VERNON - Vernon Fire Rescue Services has confirmed a fire that ripped through a Commonage Place property last week started in the backyard.
A City of Vernon media release says Vernon Fire Rescue Services investigators confirmed the fire on Aug. 22 started in the yard and spread to some tall cedar trees close to the house and then to the attic. Eye witness accounts at the time reported flames shooting out of the attic.
The City says the cause of the fire is still undetermined but foul play is not suspected.
The City says fire crews arrived on scene seven minutes form the 911 call and by this time the fire was already burning through the roof of 3755 Commonage Pl. and threatening to spread to the property next door, 3759 Commonage Pl. Firefighters were able to stop the fire spreading, although the neighbouring property's exterior suffered some exterior damage with its vinyl siding melting.
Fire crews were informed that no one was home when they arrived on the scene but it later transpired a mother and her child were at home at the time but had left the property when they discovered the fire. During the search of the property, a cat was found and taken to a vet for care.
"There is a lot to be grateful for with this incident. The actions of a good Samaritan significantly reduced the risk to the occupants when she assisted them to evacuate. The quick actions of the firefighters stopped the spread of the fire to the neighbouring home, recovered a family pet and salvaged important family possessions," fire chief David Lind said in the release.
"There is also an important lesson here for all of us to pay attention to. The plants and materials around our homes can enable a fire to spread into the home. The good news is that we can, quite often, do something easy and inexpensive to reduce the risk of this fire spread. We can fire smart our homes and our yards," he said.
For information about protecting your property from fire go here.
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