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Keremeos Volunteer Firefighters are kept busy over holiday season

Garage fire on Christmas eve started under suspicious circumstances
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The house adjacent to this garage that burned under mysterious circumstances on Christmas eve narrowly escaped burning as well

The Keremeos Volunteer Fire Department had little time to relax over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, with ten calls over the last ten days.

The department responded to a garage fire in the 400 block of Ninth Avenue around 8 p.m. Christmas eve. The fire got dangerously close to the nearby house, melting the vinyl siding and setting fire to the back porch prior to the arrival of department.

“The owner, who was at home at the time, was first to notice it,” reported Keremeos Chief Jordy Bosscha. “It’s fortunate that he noticed it when he did. It was minutes away from being much worse.”

Bosscha said that the garage had no power and no heat.

“It is currently under investigation, definitely suspicious in nature at this point,” Bosscha said, asking that anyone who might have information on the blaze to contact the Keremeos detachment of the RCMP at 250-499- 5511.

Fifteen firefighters were on seen for approximately two hours.

A half hour after returning to the hall, firefighters were again called out to extinguish a fire set in a field outside of Keremeos. Several people were seen fleeing the area around the time of the fire. Again, anyone with any information regarding this incident are asked to call the RCMP at 250-499-5511, or Crime Stoppers at1-800-222-8477.

Christmas Day saw the department in Olalla battling a chimney fire, which did not cause any damage to the structure.

On Boxing Day, Keremeos responded to a CO2 alarm.

On Tuesday, Dec. 27, members were called to a power pole fire, and on Wednesday the department answered  to a false alarm.

Thursday, Dec. 29 saw Keremeos respond to an alarm at 10 a.m., followed by two motor vehicle accidents at 4:30 and 6:40 p.m. Activity continued into the New Year with a CO2 alarm call at 1:40 a.m.