The Oliver Fire Department attended the scene of a small residential fire near School Avenue and Okanagan Street on Feb. 26.
At approximately 6:45 p.m., crews arrived and located the smoke and flames coming from the exterior of the home. According to Rob Graham with the department, the fire was centralized to this one area of the single-level home and the lone occupant was able to exit before crews arrived.
“Once we had the crew on scene, they did see some smoke coming from an outside wall near the bottom. They were able to peel some of the sidings away from the home to expose (the fire). Because it’s an older home, it’s sawdust and woodchip insulation,” said Graham. “So some of that was smouldering. The home doesn’t have a crawlspace, just a sub-area that the (floor) joints rest on. They were able to get it exposed and get underneath to get water on where it was smouldering.”
Graham said crews had to use a chainsaw inside of the home through the floorboards to “expose where the fire was.” The cause of the fire is not known at this time but crews are still investigating the incident.
According to Graham, the occupant of the home was transported by emergency services to the hospital for observation. The home is currently not-habitable due to the smoke from the fire.
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