Thick smoke visible from several kilometers away billowed from the Ranchview Dr. home. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

house fire

Fire significantly damages home in Nanaimo’s Cinnabar Valley

Jan 27, 2025 | 5:18 PM

NANAIMO — A fire which reportedly started on a back deck inflicted serious damage on a home in the city’s south end.

Fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27 from a property on Ranchview Dr., near Cinnabar Valley Elementary school.

Initially called in as a fire on the back deck, flames quickly spread to the house itself with considerable damage to the outside of the home.

“We were met by the homeowner who directed me around back, it was fully involved with flames bottom to top floor. No-one was in the house, everyone out,” Capt. Tom Krall said on scene.

He said teams then worked to extinguish the fire at multiple points, including attempting to access the home’s attic.

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A search of the home was conducted with no-one else found inside. Four people live at the property, along with two cats.

One person was treated on scene by paramedics for smoke inhalation and eventually taken to NRGH for observation.

“The front half of the house is basically untouched besides smoke damage. The back half of the house, both downstairs and upstairs is fully burned. The house is not habitable, so the homeowners and renters will have to find other accommodations.”

Krall said it’s too early to determine a cause.

“We do have fire investigators here and for the remainder of tonight we’ll get the house boarded up and investigators will be back tomorrow to carry on.”

Traffic along Ranchview Dr. was closed for several hours as a result of the incident.

The back rear exterior of the home sustained substantial damage. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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