Police clear residents from burning complex
Officer spots blaze at Kelowna townhouse building while on patrol
A Kelowna RCMP officer blasted his air horn and sirens to wake townhouse residents early Wednesday morning when he spotted massive flames coming from one of the units.
The officer was on patrol in the area of Gordon Drive and Guisachan Road at 12:47 a.m., when he spotted the blaze coming from the complex in the 1200 block of Cameron Avenue, said RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.
He was soon joined by additional officers, who began to evacuate the building.
“Police forced their entry into as many as three separate residential units that were deemed to be in immediate danger of the spreading flames,” said O’Donaghey. “In some cases, police provided assistance to those with mobility issues from their homes.”
On arrival, Kelowna Fire Department platoon Capt. Tim Light said crews noted the fire had fully engulfed a ground-level unit and had spread to the upstairs unit.
Those two units were damaged extensively, while two units to the east suffered roof damage and water damage, said Light.
Two units on the west side also sustained water damage.
Crews battled the blaze for several hours.
Firefighters believe the fire started in a ground-level unit. But, as of Wednesday afternoon, crews had not been able to enter the building because of safety issues.
“The floor joints have been burnt through,” said Light, adding a beam in the upper apartment was also burnt on one side. “There’s a pool table right above it, and if the pool table comes down, it will kill somebody.”
Crews will not enter the building until an engineer gives the OK to do so.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
“Until our investigators get in there, we can’t absolutely say for sure,” said Light.
As a precaution, fires are often treated as suspicious until a suspected or confirmed cause is identified, said O’Donaghey.
Firefighters were battling not only the fire Wednesday morning, but also the cold weather.
The air tanks worn by firefighters were freezing up, along with their gloves and radios, said Light.
“The water was freezing to the outside of the masks, blurring their vision,” he said.
The area around the complex was a sheet of ice Wednesday.
“When there’s water everywhere, it turns to ice pretty quick,” said Light. “It’s a little more dangerous. Everyone is being extra careful.”
Throughout the day on Wednesday, firefighters continued dealing with hot spots.
Evacuated residents were temporarily sheltered from the cold in city buses, then transported to the Salvation Army building on Burtch Avenue.
Emergency Social Services was called in to find temporary accommodations for the residents.
Kelowna RCMP could not confirm the exact number of evacuees, but every unit of the townhouse complex was cleared, said O’Donaghey.
“To my knowledge, there have been no serious or life-threatening injuries reported to police at this time,” he said. “Residents were medically assessed and treated at (the) scene by emergency medical crews.”