Fire ruins wedding plans

Photo: Carmen Weld

The fire broke out at a home in Armstrong.

An early morning fire has gutted an Armstrong home just weeks before its occupants were set to marry in the backyard.

“The owner of the house was woken up to flames on his deck,” says Deputy Chief Alastair Crick.

“By the time they got everybody out and tried to get hoses on it, the thing was fully involved and into the house and up through the roof.”

The blaze broke out just before 5 a.m. Sunday morning, at the home where the couple were set to wed in just a few weeks. They had friends over at the time and all seven people were able to make their way out safely.

“Unfortunately he had just spent a year renovating his house for their wedding. They were going to have their wedding at the house and in the garden and now it's all gone so it's pretty sad,” says Crick.

If there is a bright spot, Crick says they were able to salvage the brides wedding dress from the home.

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but crews are continuing to look at a couple of areas of possible ignition.