The Penticton Fire Department was called into action at 4:47 a.m. Tuesday morning for a reported structure fire at 320 Brunswick St.
Capt. Ken Younghusband said upon arrival to the apartments the firefighters saw smoke and flames visible from the second floor balcony. The fire sprinklers were activated and extinguished most of the fire on the balcony. The fire was extending into the roof and wall area of the siding on the deck.
Two of the three family members that lived in the unit were home at the time and escaped. Firefighters later went in to retrieve their two cats, who Younghusband said were in fine condition besides being distraught from the fire.
PFD: contained a fire to the balcony at an apartment fire this morning at 5am. No injuries and residents returned to there units.
— Penticton Fire Dept. (@pentictonfire) October 10, 2017
“There was quite a bit of damage to the balcony and some water damage into the unit itself and a little bit to the floor below. The building was evacuated and everyone is now back in their units, with the exception of where the fire was. A property rep in the building has found the family another property to stay at,” said Younghusband.
Smoking materials is being investigated as the cause of the fire.
“We are still investigating that, but that is the preliminary cause. We believe someone was smoking out there before the fire had started, so it could happen to be that it was smoking material,” said Younghusband.