Blaze destroys West Vancouver house
A fast-moving blaze destroyed a West Vancouver home on Wednesday.
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Updated: July 16, 2009 5:26 PM
When fire crews arrived at a house fire in the 2300-block of Jefferson Avenue on Wednesday, it was already too late.
Flames had engulfed the home.
"Once we got here we deemed it a 'defence fire,' meaning we were not going to send anyone in," said Captain Martin Ernst, spokesman for West Vancouver Fire and Rescue.
However the firefighters were able to extinguish the spreading fire quickly enough to save the second cottage. Earnst said the main house is a total loss.
Marian Snowball, the sister of the home's owner, received a phone call from a neighbour at 2 p.m. telling her that her sister's home was on fire. By the time she arrived at the house, smoke was pouring through the roof. Shortly after flames started firing out the front door.
"You feel sick," Snowball said of watching the blaze.
Luckily her sister and her two sons are vacationing in Europe. A friend was watching over the house, but wasn't in at the time. A neighbour was able to safely grab the family's dog and cat, Snowball said.
Along with Snowball's sister's house there also damage to an adjacent structure, said Earnst. About 20 firefighters fought the fire. North Vancouver fire services attended the scene as backup.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Details to follow.
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