Three residents have been forced out of their home by an early morning house fire in Nanaimo that investigtors are using as a cautionary tale about fireplace and woodstove inspections.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue responded to the blaze on the 1600 block of Chick-A-Dee Crescent shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire and loss prevention officers spent much of the morning investigating the cause of the blaze and discovered that the cause of the blaze was an aging fireplace.
“[It] allowed heat to exit and heat up the wood structure, which caused the fire,” said Troy Libbus, Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief.
“The takeaway is have your fireplace or wood stove inspected, especially if they’re aging … to make sure the longevity and the safety of it it meets code.”
Libbus said the home’s smoke detectors didn’t activate because the fire went up into the attic space.
Firefighters arrived at the address and could see flames coming from the roof of the structure.
“Crews pulled up to the scene of an attic fire on Chick-A-Dee and quickly pulled some lines to get the fire under control,” said Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief Tim Doyle. “Three people were out of the house. They’re safe, but they’ve been displaced because of the damage to the second floor.”
Doyle said firefighters were at the scene until about 5 a.m.
The homeowners have insurance and so the City of Nanaimo’s emergency social services weren’t required.
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chris.bush@nanaimobulletin.com
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