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Kelowna  

Update: Garage fire

The following information has just been released by the Kelowna Fire Deptartment. 

"The main fire was in the garage with extension into the attic space of the @ 1400 square foot home.  The garage is totally destroyed along with a car that was parked in the garage.  The attic received significant fire damage and the inside of the house received water and smoke damage. A fire investigator was on scene shortly after the fire was put out and preliminary result of his investigation determined that the residents had been working on the cars fuel system and had a container with a small amount of gas in it.  They had been using an electric space heater close to the container.  They had left the scene to get parts and in a short time it is assumed that the vapours were ignited by the space heater.  Damage is estimated to be in the $200,000 range." -- Platoon Captain Laurie Serres

Kelowna fire crews were called out to a house fire at 567 Clifton Road around 11 a.m. this morning.

The blaze is believed to have originated in the garage of the home and witnesses say they heard a loud explosion before heavy black smoke began to pour out.

The homeowner, Granger Evans, says he believes a heater left on in the garage triggered the blaze and the explosion may have come from the gas tank of a car parked inside.

Evans wife was home at the time but escaped unharmed.

Platoon Captain Laurie Serres confirms the call came in as a garage fire and there was a large column of smoke already billowing from the home when crews arrived.

“When they first got here and did their evaluation, they were able to get some water on it but (the fire) extended into the attic, so there is some damage up there,” says Serres.

"The damage looks like it’s probably going to be fairly extensive on that side and inside the house with water and smoke.”

Serres notes there is not much fire damage to the main part of the house, but says crews will have to tear out parts of the ceiling in order to access the remaining patches of fire confined to the attic.

A total of three engines and 15 firefighters responded to the blaze.

 

 



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