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Vacant Rosedale home demolished to extinguish fire

Chilliwack Fire Dept. reminds vacant home owners of risks of property damage, firefighter safety
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The scene at 51448 Yale Road in Rosedale after an excavator demolished a vacant home to help extinguish a fire early Jan. 3, 2019 in the house surrounded by dense brush. (Grace Kennedy/ Black Press)

A vacant Rosedale home overgrown with brush had to be demolished early Thursday to fight a fire.

At 4 a.m. on Jan. 3, firefighters from Chilliwack fire halls 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 responded to a structure fire in the 51000 block of Yale Road.

When firefighters arrived they found a vacant, single family residential home with flames and smoke showing from the building attic.

An image of the property at 51448 Yale Road from Google Streetview showing how densely it was surrounded by trees and bushes. (Google Streetview)
The home at 51448 Yale Rd. was surrounded by dense bushes and trees such that it could barely be seen from the street just a few feet away.

• RELATED: VIDEO: Vacant house on Trethewey Avenue goes up in flames

The Chilliwack Fire Department reported that the site was challenging due to the overgrowth. Firefighters confined the fire to the house and an excavator was brought in to demolish the building to complete extinguishment.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

The fire is under investigation by the Chilliwack Fire Department and RCMP.

“Chilliwack Fire Department would like to remind owners of vacant homes there is an increased risk when it comes to firefighter safety and property damage including vandalism, theft and or fire damage.”

• RELATED: Vacant buildings in Chilliwack will have to be dealt with quicker


@PeeJayAitch
paul.henderson@theprogress.com

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