UPDATE:
A resident living in the upstairs portion of a house on 667 Ellis Street got a rude awakening as someone pounded on the door for her to get out.
“They were banging on my door and I came out and everyone was afraid the propane tanks were going to blow on the motor home. There is chemicals in the shed too. There were big flames coming out and I thought our house was going to go too,” said the resident.
Penticton firefighters responded to a report of a structure fire on Ellis Street at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
“On scene we found heavy fire coming from two structures. On our first initial size up we found a garage in the back and an RV trailer that was heavily involved in fire. Crews aggressively fought the fire on the outside of the structure and we were able to contain most of the damage to the garage and the RV but we have had some extension into the roof of the adjacent building through an explosion of the fire,” said Penticton Fire Department chief Larry Watkinson.
The fire, he said, was fuelled by propane tanks and other chemical products in the garage but fire crews managed to get a handle on the fire quickly.
Everyone got out of the house safely, however the neighbouring house said they believe their cat ran away while they were getting out of the residence. The cat, named Mitsy, is a calico with a white neck. If someone picked up the cat, they can contact the Western News at editor@pentictonwesternnews.com or call 250-492-3636.
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Penticton firefighters are on the scene of a travel trailer that caught fire in the backyard of a house near the near the Penticton United Church.
According to the Western News reporter on the scene, Penticton Fire Rescue has yet to confirm the origin of the fire, but neighbours are saying the fire started in a shed and then jumped to the travel trailer before scorching the side of a neighbouring house.
More details as they arrive.