A Nanaimo family of six was displaced from their home and a gym suffered damage in two separate structure fires Tuesday.
Firefighters responded to a home at 1090 Woodhouse Dr. in south Nanaimo shortly before 5 p.m.
The fire was confined to the kitchen and was caused by a pot on the stove, said Kevin Lillingston, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer.
Fire damage was limited to an oven, but because of smoke throughout the home the family of six was given lodging overnight through the city’s Community Assistance Program.
“There was a bit of smoke so they put the folks in a hotel overnight,” Lillingston said.
Four children and their father were home at the time of the fire and were assessed for smoke inhalation at the scene, but there were no injuries, Lillingston said.
Nanaimo RCMP alerted firefighters to a second structure fire at the Nanaimo Athletic Club, located at 1450 Bowen Rd., shortly after 11 p.m.
“RCMP responded to an alarm call and when they arrived they realized it was on fire and called the fire department,” said Alan Millbank, fire prevention officer investigating the fire.
The fire, which Millbank said is under investigation but not considered suspicious, appears to have started in a utility closet in the basement of the building and burned its way through the walls and into the roof of the building, causing some structural and smoke damage throughout the building’s interior.
Millbank had not determined what sparked the fire before press time.
The business was closed and no one was in the building at the time of the fire.
“It will likely be closed for a while,” Millbank said.
The building is insured.