Fallen tree sparks house fire in Blewett; approximately 30 firefighters respond
By Nelson Daily Staff
No one was injured after a residence in the 4000 Block of Blewett Road, about 12 kilometers west of Nelson, was gutted by fire late Tuesday night.
Blewett Volunteer Fire Department initially responded to a 9-1-1 call at approximately 9 p.m. that a tree had fallen onto the house, causing a small fire at the hydro stack of a Blewett Road residence.
However, before firefighters could attend the scene of residence, the fire had inched its way into the walls and ceiling of the house forcing the Blewett Fire Chief to call in reinforcements.
“It was called in as a little brush fire but when we arrived the house was burning,” Yoshan Lavoie, a firefighter with the Blewett Volunteer Fire Department, told The Nelson Daily this morning.
“When we arrived the fire was burning at the corner of the house near the electrical stack making its way up towards the attic in the venting space which made it pretty hard to battle since it was entrapped between the roof and ventilation space.”
Lavoie said firefighters battled the blaze by cutting open walls to access the flames.
“It was tricky because the house had a tin roof so we couldn’t make a hole through the roof to spray water in through the top so we had to access fighting the fire through the sides of the house,” he said.
It is believed there were strong winds during the day but nothing when the tree fell onto the house.
In total, approximately 30 firefighters from the four halls — Blewett, Beasley, Crescent Valley Volunteer Departments as well as a crew, and Chief Len MacCharles from Nelson Fire Rescue — responded to the fire.
Crews battled the fire well into the night with mop up completed at approximately 6 a.m. Wednesday.
No estimate was released on damage caused by the fire but the house is completely gutted.
