Overnight fire rips through Skyview Ranch home
An overnight fire in the northeast community of Skyview Ranch destroyed one home and damaged two others.
The blaze on 200 block of Skyview Manor Northeast also displaced over a dozen residents while crews worked to bring it under control.
The fire broke out just before midnight. When fire crews arrived, the building was fully involved, and additional units were called in to protect adjacent homes.
Chirag Besai lives next door to the house that caught fire, and was awakened by firefighters telling him to leave.
"It is scary, especially when it's cold outside and you're just barefoot, you are running out of the house, you have no idea what you're going to take with you," said Besai “You just want to run out of the house. That's the first thought (that) came in the mind and you're not thinking anything else."
Neighbour Samantha Keown heard and smelled the fire before she saw it, but once she saw it, she says it spread quickly.
“Originally I thought (it) was like somebody just having a fire in their backyard, because I could hear the crackling of wood, but I was thinking that I could smell something that it wasn't right, I could like smell the plastic siding," said Keown.
“As soon as I turned my head around the corner, I could see the patio, everything was already on fire, and by the time I had ran inside to get the phone and call 911 and came back out, the whole back end was on fire.”
Keown ran to the home to make sure everyone was out.
“I was running over while I was on 911 to start banging on the door to get them out. But they were already running (out). I did panic extra a little bit because one of the women yelled, 'My husband is still in there.'”
That man did get out of the house safely, but the home will have to be demolished. All its supporting walls and joists have been destroyed. Fire crews have told residents of adjacent homes to be careful, as the building is in imminent danger of collapse.
“You can completely see like the whole house is down,” said Chenai “and the firefighter told me that because of the fire one of the walls became very weak (and said) the chances are it can fall on your house.”
Firefighters say patio fires like the one in Skyview Ranch are particularly dangerous because they usually don’t activate smoke alarms until the blaze makes its way inside the home - leaving only seconds for escape. In this case no one was injured.
Fire officials say the cause of the fire is still under investigation but say it is not considered suspicious.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.