Three people are safe thanks in part to a family dog who first alerted them to an early morning fire that ripped through a Finnerty Road home Wednesday.
According to Deputy Chief Chris Forster, the initial indication is the fire, which destroyed the house, may have started in the lower backyard patio area on the west side of the structure.
Related: Early morning house fire in Penticton - Penticton Western News
“We got a call at approximately quarter after three this morning about a structure with visible flames through the roof, arrived on scene and started an aggressive attack on the interior until it appeared that there might be some structural issues and they pulled the crews out,” said Capt. Mike Richards at the scene later in the day as family and neighbours watched from across the street. “The occupants were home at the time and they got out safely. They were alerted by a family pet and then the smoke alarms.”
— Penticton Fire Dept. (@pentictonfire) May 16, 2018
He estimated about 25 firefighters were on scene at the height of the blaze.
“The fire was knocked down within 45 minutes to an hour but with the odd angles of the roof structure it was difficult to get at some of those areas to pull down the celling to access them,” said Richards.
He noted that two of the people in the house were living in a contained suite.
There were no injuries to firefighters and the next step will be to excavate the structure to determine the point of origin.
