COMOX, B.C- A major fire in Comox drew a crowd of onlookers last night.
The fire consumed a home along Rodello Street, close to the intersection of Robb and Rodello. The Comox fire department was called out to the scene around 8:30 p.m., and smoke from the fire could be seen from around the Valley.
The house is likely “totaled,” according to Comox Fire Chief Gord Schreiner.
“Upon arrival it was very showy, lots of flames, the fir trees in the backyard were ‘candling,’ so we probably had flames 60, 80 feet in the air,” Schreiner told MyComoxValleyNow.com at the scene.
The fire spread to a couple of sheds on neighbouring properties, and witnesses reported hearing explosions.
The flames were out by midnight, with a fire watch set on the building throughout the night to avoid rekindling. The exact cause is still under investigation, and the Comox Valley RCMP’s General Investigation Section is assisting.
It is not known whether or not the fire is suspicious, and detachment spokesperson Constable Monika Terragni indicated it was too early in the investigation to determine. She also said the police have no history of criminal activity at the residence.
According to Schreiner, the home was occupied by two people, and one was home at the time of the fire. He was roused by a neighbour who banged on his door to let him know about the flames.
Schreiner indicated the man fled while the flames were fifty feet high and aggressively burning in the trees near the residence. While he ran out the door onto the driveway, he could hear propane tanks exploding in the back shed.
The man did not sustain any injuries, and later stayed with a neighbour. Around 50 people in the surrounding neighbourhood were evacuated, but were back home by midnight.
Schreiner said the home has been “pretty well gutted”, and he anticipated it will be a total loss. He also had words of praise for his firefighters, who were practising when the call came in.
“Our response here was very quick, we were on scene in three to four minutes, very good response,” said Schreiner.
“Had it not been for that quick response, I think we would have lost a couple houses in the neighbourhood here.”
He also touched on the turnout of the public to view the fire, which filled nearby streets during the first hour of the incident.
“There was a huge crowd here,” said Schreiner.
“This was a very showy fire, the column of smoke was visible from around the Valley here. So of course, you get a lot of looky-loos. As we were arriving, they were other people coming up and down the street, I’ve never seen the street so busy. It’s a very quiet street, but there’s cars coming to take a look.”
The roads in and out of the neighbourhood, as well as Anderton Road, had heavy traffic in the first hour. Schreiner indicated that motorists got in the way at times.
“We have to place our fire trucks to strategically locate them here,” said Schreiner.
“We had to yell at a few people, sorry if I offended a few people, but I had to yell at a few motorists to get out of the way. They were blocking our path.”
He asked the public to give firefighters a “good berth” when it came to major fires.
“Give us some room to set up, and get our jobs done,” said Schreiner.
“It makes it a lot safer if we don’t have to deal with all the cars here, and all the pedestrians. Let us do our jobs.”
No injuries were reported at the scene beyond one firefighter suffering heat exhaustion. The area around the house is now cordoned off with police tape.
