The Sechelt Fire Department and RCMP are investigating the cause of a Sunday house fire on shíshálh Nation land in East Porpoise Bay.
Fire broke out at the home in the 5700 block of Sechelt Inlet Road, near where it turns into East Porpoise Bay Road, around 9:45 a.m. April 23.
Sechelt fire Chief Trevor Pike said the four people inside the home were able to get out safely, but one had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Eighteen Sechelt firefighters and four trucks responded to the call, backed up by the Halfmoon Bay Fire Department under the mutual aid agreement. Pike said they were able to keep the house from burning to the ground, but because of the building’s age and condition, it will be torn down by the shíshálh Nation.
Pike said the Sunday morning blaze was the fourteenth structure fire the Sechelt Fire Department has been called out to since October of last year. That’s seven times the number of structure fire calls than they get during an average year.
According to Pike, investigators traced the causes of many of those fires to the unsafe use of auxiliary heating sources during the unusually cold, wet winter and spring. He said people should keep safety top of mind when using devices like space heaters or wood stoves.
