Fire forces six out of house in Langford
A fire at a two-storey Langford house forced out six people Friday morning.
Neighbours said the fire broke out at 820 High Forest Place shortly before 4:30 a.m. Within moments, flames were leaping out of the house’s attached garage and the upper-storey, front-facing windows.
Scott Davidson, Langford assistant fire chief, said 20 firefighters responded in three trucks. Another truck was sent by the View Royal department.
Davidson said all six people in the house were removed safely and moved into alternative housing, some with family and friends. The garage and the living area above it were heavily damaged.
Houses on each side were evacuated, but residents were allowed to return before 8 a.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Neighbours on the cul-de-sac said the burned house is a group home or foster home.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Children and Family Development would not confirm whether the house is a group home, citing privacy issues.
The spokesman said residents of any care facility touched by fire are moved and would not be allowed to return until fire officials certify it as safe.
B.C. Assessment files indicate the home is assessed at $703,000. It has nine bedrooms and five bathrooms.
Terry Chan, who lives two doors from the burned house, said he feared for the safety of his next-door neighbours, located beside the burning house. So he knocked on their door to alert them to the threat.
He said he was worried a car parked directly in front of the burning garage might explode, so he used his neighbour’s garden hose to douse the vehicle. The gesture was likely unnecessary, he said, because firefighters arrived in short order.
The street’s drainage system couldn’t immediately carry away the water used to fight the fire, so water crept up on front lawns while firefighters worked.
The worst experience for Chan and his neighbours was the smoke that left an acrid odour long after the fire was out.
“I’m still coughing,” he said, hours after the blaze had been extinguished.