Flames shot dozens of feet above the southern end of downtown early Thursday morning as a detached home on the corner of Second Avenue and Main Street became completely engulfed just after 2 a.m.
By the time Squamish Fire Rescue crews arrived at 2:18 a.m., a shed, an RV and a tree on the property were already engulfed in flames, and shortly afterwards the house caught on fire.
Lone occupant Wes Powder escaped unharmed, but lost everything in the fire.
“There was a single occupant in this building and he escaped with just the clothes on his back,” said deputy fire chief Mike Adams.
Emergency social services and the Squamish Emergency Program (SEP) came to the scene to offer Powder shelter and look after his basic needs in the aftermath. He left with friends according to SEP manager Jim Lang, and the house’s owner was still being tracked down Thursday morning.
“Thankfully there were no injuries at all and we’re so thankful for that,” said Adams.
“Once we insured that he was out of the building we were able to focus our efforts on trying to extinguish the fire.”
Adams said crews entered the building and attempted to attack from within but the fire was too intense.
“The crews opened attack to try and knock it down aggressively but were beaten back by the flames and the heat. We went defensive, meaning that our crews were outside the building.”
Adams said the crews did an excellent job saving a neighbouring home, which showed no sign of scalding or broken windows.
The fire’s source is still unknown and fire inspectors are on the scene looking for evidence.
“Right now our inspectors are on scene, we’ve spoken to the RCMP and we’re currently gathering information to try and interview some witnesses,” said Adams.
“It started outside the home perhaps in the tree or the trailer but it’s still early on in the investigation process.”
Cpl. Dave Ritchie said RCMP was on the scene shortly after the fire crews arrived.
“We were there last night and protected the scene until their investigators got in.” he said. “Depending on what they find to be a cause, whether it’s suspicious or not, then we would be involved.”
He said they took statements from several bystanders but everyone had arrived after the fire started.
He said fire inspectors had yet to reach conclusions, but the fact that the fire started in the middle of the night makes it suspicious.
“Being that it’s 2:20 in the morning, that time of day, it leans to a little more suspicious,” he said, “but we haven’t got anything determined yet.”
Firefighters were still on the scene at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, making sure the fire was completely out and organizing the demolition of the remnants.
“Right now we’re just making sure this thing is out,” he said. “With the extreme fire hazard, we want to make sure this thing is out completely before the winds pick up in the afternoon.
“We have a machine on scene to try and take what’s left of the structure down.”
