Two Castlegar residents escaped unharmed after smelling smoke in their basement and calling 911 early Sunday morning.
The house, located in the 2500-block of Columbia Avenue, sustained smoke damage throughout but thanks to the quick call, firefighters were able to contain the flames in the three-storey house to the basement, fire Chief Gerry Rempel said.
The residents were up at 1 a.m. when they noticed the smoke and ran outside to call emergency services.
Rempel said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but there is around $30,000 in damage.
Although it will be “quite a while” before the residents are able to move back in, they’re able to go in at any time and retrieve their belongings.
Rempel believed they had relatives to stay with during the interim.
/Castlegar News