Damage from a fire in an Old City Quarter building was kept to a minimum, thanks in part to a witness who spotted it early.
Firefighters were called out Sunday just before 9 p.m. to a fire in a building at 450 Frankly St., which broke out after repair work had been done to replace rotted plywood and the vinyl covering on the building’s veranda.
Capt. Ennis Mond, Nanaimo Fire Rescue chief fire prevention officer, said the fire was likely started by a heat gun, used to seal the seams of the new vinyl deck covering, that caused some sawdust to start smouldering.
“They sat and smouldered inside a repaired area for a while and ignited overnight,” Mond said. “A witness saw it and called the fire department right away, which was good.”
Mond said damage was limited to the deck framing, deck support columns, soffits and roofing above the deck.
No one was injured.
“It wasn’t a huge fire, but it could have been. Lucky the witness saw it,” Mond said.