The fire at a Promontory home might have been worse if a neighbour hadn’t intervened.
Chilliwack Fire Department crews were dispatched to a structure fire in the 47000-block of Laughington Place after a call came in at about 3 a.m. Thursday.
Only light smoke could be seen wafting up from the rear of the two-storey home when crews arrived because an alert neighbour grabbed a garden hose.
The next-door neighbour discovered the fire after smelling smoke and had walked over to investigate. The neighbour saw some flames on the deck and quickly woke up the people who were sleeping inside.
Residents evacuated safely while the neighbour doused flames with a hose until fire crews arrived.
“Once on-scene, firefighters promptly extinguished and overhauled the final stages of the fire,” said Mike Bourdon, assistant fire chief. “The home sustained fire damage to a planter on the deck and to a section of rear exterior wall.”
There was minor smoke damage limited to the attic space.
There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is accidental, but smoking may have been the cause.
“The Chilliwack Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to remind homeowners when extinguishing smoking materials, do not discard cigarettes in dry vegetation such as bark mulch, landscaping, peat moss, grasses, leaves or other items that could ignite quickly, especially at this time of the season,” said Bourdon.