UPDATE:
Fire crews have knocked down a fire at a home in Abbotsford’s Lower Sumas Mountain area, despite a “stubborn” blaze in the structure’s attic.
Assistant fire chief Jeff Snider said no cause has been determined, nor a location in which the blaze had sparked, but an inspector was en route as of about 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
“The the call came in earlier this afternoon. When crews arrived, we had heavy smoke and flames showing,” Snider said. “They did a quick interior attack and knocked down the majority of it. (It was) a bit stubborn, as it was running through the attic space, so they had to do a bit of hot and heavy work back in there to get it out. It took some good labour by the firefighters, and they did a good job.”
At least seven fire engines were on scene — joined by an ambulance and two police cars — and by around 3 p.m., the fire had effectively been doused, though a crew was returning inside the house.
The front and rear of the structure were two entirely different pictures, with the facade out front looking largely unscathed, while the rear had taken extensive fire damage.
“Definitely won’t be livable for the next little while,” Snider said.
| The rear side of the Empress Drive house showed extensive fire damage from a blaze that sparked around 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Dustin Godfrey/Abbotsford News |
Nobody was inside the house at the time of the fire, however a dog was found in the basement suite.
“She’s a happy dog,” Snider said of the dog’s condition. “Dog was in there since the beginning of the fire, but the guys found it down on the main floor, so it was low and out of the way of the smoke, which was great.”
Working a blaze on a hot summer day, too, appeared to be heavy on he minds of firefighters, many of whom doused themselves with a garden hose as their round fighting the blaze came to a close.
As well, firefighters were seen eating freezies during breaks from the fire and a neighbour had cut up some watermelon for the crew.
—-
ORIGINAL:
Abbotsford fire crews are on scene battling a house fire on Empress Drive.
Smoke can be seen coming from the roof of the home.
Smoke has already died down noticeably since I got here. pic.twitter.com/IxnWYMEGTO
— Dustin Godfrey (@dustinrgodfrey) July 28, 2018
More to come.