Cause and origin of mobile home fire will be challenging for investigators
The extensive damage caused by a mobile home fire on the Westside Thursday afternoon will hinder investigators’ ability to determine a cause and origin.
West Kelowna Fire Rescue responded to the fire in Westgate Village on Old Boucherie Road at 1:34 p.m.
Upon arrival, crews reported a fully involved mobile home with flames threatening to extend to neighbouring homes, said assistant fire chief Darren Lee.
One person had to escape via a bedroom window, as his primary exit was blocked by the fire, he said.
Once fire crews confirmed the home was evacuated, they stretched attack lines to protect homes on either side of the trailer.
They then worked to knock down the main body of the fire from the outside.
“The home is located in a legacy mobile home part that does not have a municipal water system or fire hydrants,” said Lee. “Homes in this park are serviced by wells and septic systems.”
An interim water supply was established that helped save two nearby homes, he said.
“While the main fire occupancy was fully involved upon arrival, West Kelowna firefighters prevented the loss of two additional homes.”
When the Rose Valley engine arrived, crews stretched a supply line from a fire hydrant in a neighbouring mobile home park across Boucherie Road, over a snow bank, through the back fence of a neighbour’s yard to the attack engine.
The mobile home is considered a total loss, and the structure posed a significant hazard of collapsing, said Lee.
“In order to protect the safety of firefighters and neighbours, WKFR called for an excavator to pull down the remaining structure,” he said. The cause of the fire remains undetermined. “Due to the structural collapse issues, fire cause and origin investigation will be limited to witness statements, video and pictures,” said Lee.
The home is believed to be fully insured and the scene was turned over to the mobile home park property manager.