A home along Burma Road in north Nanaimo has been destroyed after a fire broke out shortly after 12 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 30. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)
HOUSE BLAZE

Occupants safe as fire destroys north Nanaimo home

Oct 30, 2019 | 7:13 AM

NANAIMO — While a north Nanaimo home was destroyed by fire, the occupants managed to escape serious injury.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews were called to rural Burma Rd. home off Lost Lake Rd. shortly after 12 p.m. Wednesday.

Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Timothy Doyle said crews arrived to a fully involved blaze.

“They proceeded with a defensive attack because of the heavy fire activity. We had all four of our day shift engines and all personnel on scene,” Doyle told NanaimoNewsNOW on scene.

BC Ambulance paramedics were on scene to treat at least one of the home’s occupant with smoke inhalation.

Doyle said four pets also lived in the home. As of Wednesday afternoon, two had been accounted for with one personally delivered by Doyle to a resident in an ambulance.

The blaze was a challenge for crews given how far the home was set back off Burma Rd. and its proximity to a water supply for firefighters.

Burma Rd. remained closed in the aftermath of the fire, however nearby Lost Lake Rd. stayed open with RCMP controlling single lane traffic.

Crews returned to the home in the early hours of Thursday morning, with one engine extinguishing any remaining hot spots. Fire rescue said the location and fragile nature of the structure made it difficult to dampen every area of the house during the initial attack.

An investigation into the blaze is underway.

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