An early morning fire gutted a house on Station Street in Oliver on Friday. Nobody was injured in the blaze, and the cause has not been determined. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
An early morning house fire on Friday uprooted an Oliver couple, but everyone walked away safe.
The fire at 6036 Station Street (opposite the food bank) totally gutted the home.
Oliver Fire Department spokesman Rob Graham said the house was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived at 3:30 a.m. He noted that he could see the smoke and flames while driving to the fire hall.
Approximately 20 firemen utilized three trucks to battle the blaze, which took about three hours to knock down, Graham said.
Initially, firemen could only do an exterior attack due to the intensity of the flames. But after the fire was extinguished they were able to search the interior and put out the hot spots.
Fire officials were on scene until 7:20 a.m, at which point the Oliver RCMP took over the investigation.
When asked for information on scene, Sgt. Ken Harrington’s response was: “There was a fire, a house burnt.”
He offered no more details, but confirmed there were no injuries.
Grant Beauclair, the owner of the house, said his daughter and her husband were living there.
“Everyone is okay,” he told the Chronicle.
Beauclair said he doesn’t know what happened or how the fire started, noting the investigation is not yet complete.
Graham said fire officials do not know the fire’s origin or what caused it.
