Nanaimo Fire Rescue battled what they called a 'vent limited' fire on Thursday, with challenging safety conditions along Newcastle Ave. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

lots of smoke

‘Difficult fire to fight:’ substantial damage to storage property next to Nanaimo funeral home

May 8, 2025 | 1:53 PM

NANAIMO — A home used primarily as storage for a neighbouring business was badly burned by fire on Thursday.

Smoke was seen coming from the property belonging to Sands Funeral Home, along Newcastle Ave., near Terminal Ave. just after 12 p.m. on May 8, with Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) quickly on scene.

NFR assistant chief Troy Libbus said an explosion was heard when crews first arrived, along with heavy smoke coming from the building.

“The fire did get up into the walls, which moved up into the attic space, so now it becomes a little bit of a difficult fire to fight. The soffits are solid wood. We normally put water up in the soffits to get up into the roof, but at this time, we open up the gable ends, which is the side of the house…trying to get the rest of the fire out.”

What started as lots of smoke when crews first arrived around noon quickly turned to flames shooting from the roof of the building. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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He said someone either inside or just outside the building heard “popping” sounds and phoned 911.

Crews were still working on extinguishing the blaze around 1:40 p.m., with crews rotating members due to the heat and extensive work they’re doing.

Several holes were made in the building to allow for smoke to escape, with Libbus telling NanaimoNewsNOW it became a defensive fire as they didn’t know where in the building the fire originated.

“We call it vent limited, so we don’t know where the fire is, and the house is full of smoke. And at this time, when we saw up in the attic space, and we heard and determined that it was a storage house with no occupants inside, it became a defensive fire to keep all crew members safe.”

According to reports, the fire was mainly in the upper levels and the attic, breaking through the roof shortly before 1 p.m., forcing firefighters to move cautiously through the building as the weakened roof was in danger of collapsing.

Fire was seen coming from the roof of the building about an hour after emergency crews arrived on scene. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Staff with Sands confirmed to NanaimoNewsNOW no one lived at the home at 25 Newcastle Ave, with fire crews working to prevent it from spreading to nearby buildings, including a condo.

Residents of nearby buildings were told to shelter in place, close their windows, and be ready to evacuate while firefighters went to work, with Libbus saying favourable winds helped reduce their smoke exposure.

Crews were still on scene around 2 p.m. searching the building to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.

An investigation will take place later on Thursday or Friday to determine the cause of the fire.

Considerable smoke was seen coming from the fire, extending across parts of downtown Nanaimo, including from neighbouring Maffeo Sutton Park. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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