A Keremeos couple watched a workshop full of tools and family heirlooms go up in smoke Tuesday morning.
The fire broke out in a 10th Avenue workshop owned by Jane Slash Brodie and Jim Skerl while no one was home.
Son Mackenzie Smith said he was out for breakfast with his mom at a local diner and the pair returned home around 11:30 a.m. Skerl was out walking the family dog.
“You could see a small amount of smoke from the driveway when we pulled in. I ran around to the workshop doors and they were warm and that’s when I called 911,” he said.
The workshop was divided with half of it being used as a seamstress shop and the other half as a wood shop and storage area.
“All things considered, that it could have been where they sleep or the whole house, this could be much worse,” he said.
Keremeos firefighters were dispatched by 911 at 11:34 a.m. and arrived soon after. They quickly got water onto the fire.
Several firefighters used fans to remove the smoke in the building through an open door at the side.
Crews were on scene for several hours putting out hot spots.
Smith was relieved the fire was put out as quickly as it was but knew many sentimental and valuable items would be destroyed.
“A lot of Jim’s stuff was in there, some things he got from his mom. There will be smoke damage and water and then ice on the stuff that made it through the fire. It’s awful,” he said.
At press time the cause of the fire was unknown.