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Residents evacuated following Vernon townhouse fire

Reports of fire on 32nd Ave Thursday, July 5
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Occupants of a pair of Vernon townhouses were being looked after by emergency social services following a fire in a complex Thursday morning.

Vernon Fire Rescue Services responded to a report of the smell of smoke and smoke in the building at the Charisma Terrace complex in the 3900 block of 32nd Avenue shortly before 7 a.m. Each unit in the complex consists of three attached townhomes.

“Crews had difficulty locating the fire,” said Vernon Fire Chief David Lind. “There was clearly smoke in the crawl space, and they went from unit to unit finding smoke in the crawl space. They found the fire in a void (like a wall space) between two units.”

Lind said there was fairly extensive damage to one unit, most of it being from firefighter activity required to expose the fire, then extinguish it. There is some minor damage to a second unit, and smoke damage in all three units though smoke damage in the third unit is minimal.

“Two residents are being cared for by emergency social services, meaning they’ll be provided for, for the next little while, with food, clothing and shelter,” said Lind. “We’re unsure about the third occupant; they may be able to return.”

Indicators are pointing to the fire likely being electrical in nature, though Lind said the investigation is underway.

“It was a labour-intensive fire,” he said. “The crews did a good job exposing and extinguishing the fire.”

Related: Wildfire burns above West Kelowna


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