West Kelowna fire crews battle blaze and extreme cold

• New home needed to be demolished after fire.
• Blaze started inside walls.
• Firefighters battled all night with outdoor temperature at -25 C.

West Kelowna Fire and Rescue (WKFR) had to battle the desperately cold elements as well as a stubborn fire within the walls of a home Sunday night. Crews were still on site working to extinguish hot spots Monday afternoon.

They’d been called to the home on Menu Rd. 9 p.m. Sunday night, where they had to deal with fire burning inside the walls and concealed spaces of the newly constructed residence. The fire spread rapidly and additional crews from all West Kelowna stations responded.

Firefighters were working in an ambient temperature of -25 C.

“The coldest night of the year – by a long shot – was very challenging for us,” Fire Chief Jason Brolund told Kelowna10 Monday morning. He said the entire department involving about 25 personnel were called out as they worked through the night to stop the fire spreading to neighbouring homes.

“The public would, I’m sure, never imagine taking their garden hose out and spraying it in their yard on a night like last night, but that’s essentially what it was like for us except ten times [worse],” Brolund explained. He said the water was freezing on contact as they tried to douse the flames.

Crews worked in short shifts and would then take a break to get warm as others took over.

BC Transit provided a warm bus as a shelter for firefighters during the course of the emergency.

A small number of neighboring homes were affected by water runoff and ice build up from firefighting operations. Additional public works crews were brought in to assist with runoff, ice and slippery conditions.

In an update Monday afternoon WKFR said the home had to be demolished in order to safely extinguish the fire.

The cause could not be determined due to damage to the structure and safety of the fire investigators. The entire floor system and roof was compromised making it unsafe to enter.

There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters.

Brolund said the occupants of the home are staying with others.