By Ian Holmes

Cooking fire in south Nanaimo under police investigation

Jan 23, 2017 | 10:40 AM

UPDATE: The RCMP are now investigating a Sunday night house fire in South Nanaimo, according to Nanaimo Fire Rescue deputy chief Karen Fry. She says the source of the fire was from a flammable liquid that has drawn suspicion.

EARLIER:

NANAIMO — What appears to be a cooking-related fire has displaced a tenant from a south Nanaimo basement suite.

Nanaimo Fire Resue deputy fire chief Karen Fry says their crews responded shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday to a home in the 100 block of Strickland St.

“The fire had been predominantly put out by the female tenant of the building,” said Fry. “It started in the kitchen. There was some smoke damage, enough to displace the tenant for the night.”

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Fry says there were no injuries and notes the down and upstairs suites did not have working smoke alarms.

“That’s really concerning for us,” she said. “Smoke alarms are proven to reduce injury and reduce the amount of damage. Most fires and fire deaths occur at night time when people are sleeping and without smoke alarms working there is no notification to those residents until maybe it’s too late.”

Fry notes that most of the damage is smoke related and involves the kitchen.

She says the structural integrity of the suite is fine.

Fry stresses the importance of checking smoke alarms monthly to make sure they’re working. She says they need to be replaced every decade.

“They only last ten years, it could be the sound that saves your life.”