A fire Sunday afternoon resulted in a family of 11 losing the majority of their possessions.

Quesnel Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 445 Willis St. Sunday afternoon.

First arriving crews found heavy fire with flames shooting from a side window and the front door.

“The main body of the fire was quickly knocked down,” fire chief Ric Raynor said.

“But the blaze had spread from the basement [where it started] to the attic in the older home.”

Sawdust insulation and an attic addition hampered firefighters’ ability to battle the blaze, Raynor said, but after more than two hours the fire was extinguished.

Crews from all three halls attended with more than 20 firefighters on scene.

Three people were in the house at the time of the fire, but they managed to escape uninjured.

“The fire appears to have started in a downstairs sofa,” Raynor said.

“It then spread through the heating ducts to the upstairs.”

A plastic water line melted and doused the fire in the basement, acting as a sprinkler, he added, but not before the blaze spread to the main floor.

There were no smoke alarms in the house.

The family of 11 was uninsured and renting the home.

Now, Correlieu secondary’s leadership class is seeking donations of clothing and furniture to help the family in their time of need.

Donations of clothing in any size can be dropped off at CSS, if you have any furniture, e-mail claybooth@sd28.bc.ca as they wish to determine need first.