THANKS TO plenty of witnesses who called it in, an early morning fire was extinguished without anyone being injured last week.
Just before 4 a.m. Aug. 2, several people at Tim Hortons on the south side reported a fire at a house nearby on Evergreen St., said Terrace deputy fire chief Dave Jephson.
“We had a lot of witnesses. It’s amazing who’s going to work and driving around at 4 a.m.,” said Jephson, referring to the number of calls to the fire department.
One witness even went into the building to get the occupant out, said Jephson.
“Again it shows the [sense of] community we have at 4 a.m., one of the witnesses ... outside on his way to work witnesses the fire and realized in talking with people there could be someone in the house,” said Jephson.
“He kicked the door in and went in and started searching and yelling.”
“He (the occupant) heard a loud noise and then came out and I believe the noise he heard probably was the young individual who had smashed the door and gained access,” added Jephson, saying the occupant was out of the house when firefighters arrived.
Seventeen firefighters and three fire trucks responded to see the roof on fire and extinguished the blaze quickly, he said. BC Hydro had cut the power to ensure the firefighters’ safety and paramedics and the police were on scene, he added.
When you look at the house, there’s not many places for ventilation so no air was going in, which kept the fire from burning more than it would have otherwise in an older building, said Jephson.
“There’s no question if the fire had got going more, especially in the attic, it could’ve blocked the exit as that’s where the door was,” said Jephson, adding if the blaze had not been at a busy place with witnesses, things may have been worse.
The fire appeared to start from the main electrical wire coming into the house due to a short, said Jephson, referring to what the provincial electrical inspector had found.