A Pass Creek family was away for the long weekend when their neighbour called to tell them that their house was on fire.
Dave Waskul and his family were in New Denver for a fishing derby and got the call on Saturday.
“Nine, quarter after nine, my neighbour phoned and said that my deck was on fire, the BBQ caught fire and you need to come home,” Waskul told the News. “And then 20 minutes later she said the house was burnt down.”
He and his family were already on their way home when the neighbour called the second time to say the house had burned down. They arrived home around 11 a.m. and found firefighters on site and their home burned to the ground.
“A complete loss. Everything. Everything we own and the whole house is gone,” said Waskul.
The exact value of the damage is still be assessed, but Waskul estimates that the house alone was worth $300,000 to $400,000, plus the value of everything that was inside.
The fire started when the house sitter was using the BBQ to make breakfast and a grease fire caused the propane tank exploding, said Waskul, after confirming the details with his wife. Luckily the sitter wasn’t hurt, and the dog and chinchillas were saved from the home, but Waskul said his family hasn’t been able to find their cat.
The Pass Creek Fire Department responded to a call at 9:08 a.m. and were on the scene by 9:15 a.m.
“By the time our crews got there [it was] basically fully engulfed through the front and inside of the house,” said Aaron Bebelman, Pass Creek deputy fire chief.
Tarrys and Robson fire departments helped fight the blaze and finished on site sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Waskul and his family are currently staying in a travel-trailer on their acreage. They’ve owned the property almost two years and have made improvements to it over that time. Waskul said he intends to rebuild.
Waskul said he intends to rebuild.
“We’ve already got a builder on it,” he said. “He’s building my neighbour’s home right beside me, so he’s going to jump over here as soon as we can get the OK.”
Firefighters respond to shed fire near downtown
The Castlegar Fire Department also responded to a structure fire on Tuesday night.
That fire engulfed a shed on the 700 block of 10th Avenue near downtown and was called in around 8:50 p.m.
“When our first crews arrived on scene, the shed — the structure — was fully engulfed,” explained Sam Lattanzio, Castlegar fire chief.
Firefighters were able to knock the fire down quickly.
“We were fortunate that it was training night, so we had guys in the area with a truck and we responded with our engine one, our engine two and out new platform ladder one,” said Lattanzio.
Damage to the shed and its contents is estimated at $5,000 and no other structures were damaged, though some nearby trees were singed.
One firefighter experienced a “very, very minor” injury and otherwise no one was harmed.
