With 50-foot flames licking the skies, firefighters couldn’t save a Coldstream home from a blaze that broke out Monday evening.
But they did manage to save the neighbours’.
“The second home is the good news,” said Coldstream fire chief Shane Code of the Stoneridge Drive fire.
“The (originating) house is pretty much a loss.”
Residents of the home, an older couple, managed to safely escape the blaze with their two dogs.
The fire, which remains under investigation, is not suspicious.
“We’re fairly confident it originated from the area of the garage,” said Code.
The homeowner also managed to get his new Ford truck out of the driveway before it was a complete loss. But considerable damage was sustained to the passenger side of the vehicle.
Nearby resident Laurie Jenner’s jaw dropped as she stared at the charred frame of the home Tuesday morning.
“We were out having a barbecue and could see the smoke,” said Jenner, who lives on Hofer Drive.
“There were flames everywhere, it was just terrible. The flames were high, they looked more than 50 feet to me.”
Along with the enormous flames, the fire sent smoke billowing through the community and along Kalamalka Lake.
“In less than a minute, it just went up,” said neighbour Brian Guy.
Firefighters from both Coldstream and Lavington fought the blaze for nearly four hours.
“The second home was actively on fire when we arrived,” said Code.
“We got it under control fairly quickly.”
The Coldstream department’s success in saving the second home is credited to its speedy response.
“We had our first truck out of the hall within, I’d say, less than two minutes,” said Code.
“We had an extraordinary response time.”
But due to the location, the fire, like many in Coldstream, proved to be a challenge.
“That whole area is a huge challenge because of the slope and grade of the land, close proximity of homes and the streets are very narrow,” said Code.
