A crew of four firefighters formed the initial attack on a residential blaze in Chase on Monday, Sept. 30.
Fire Chief Brian Lauzon said the department got the call shortly after 3 p.m. and rushed to the scene in the 900 block of Okanagan Ave., just up the street from the fire hall.
He said as it was a daytime fire and, with many of the volunteer department’s members at work, they were short on manpower with four firefighters immediately able to respond to the blaze.
The number of firefighters was later bolstered by a second page and the fire was completely extinguished by 7 p.m.
Lauzon said the occupants of the house were home at the time of the fire; they made it out safely but Lauzon said it is unclear if their cats did.
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Initial investigation into the fire suggest it started in a bathroom fan. Lauzon said investigating the cause of the blaze is made difficult by the fire damage to the attic which caused the house’s ceiling to partially collapse, making entering the structure hazardous.
Although the interior of the house and its contents were badly damaged by fire and smoke, Lauzon said in his opinion the structure is salvageable.
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jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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