Fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in an apartment building on 89th Street in Osoyoos. The fire is believed to have started in a second floor apartment in the six-plex and no injuries have been reported. (Richard McGuire photo)
It was a very busy day for volunteers with the Osoyoos Fire Department on Wednesday, but it provided a glowing example of why this town is blessed with one of the best and most dedicated volunteer units in small town B.C., said Fire Chief Rick Jones.
Close to 20 firefighters and numerous other emergency responders rushed to the scene of an apartment fire that broke out around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon on 89th Street in Osoyoos.
This call came hours after close to 20 volunteers spent three hours battling a fire that destroyed two recreational vehicles in the early morning hours Wednesday.
In that fire, a trailer in secure storage area at the Nk’Mip RV Park in Osoyoos caught fire and burned to the ground. The fire spread causing another large RV to also be destroyed, said Jones.
That fire started after midnight Wednesday and crews didn’t leave the scene until around 4 a.m., said Jones.
No cause of that fire has yet to be determined and investigators from the provincial fire marshal’s office have been called to the scene to investigate, he said.
The apartment fire started in a six-plex building located not far from the lower level soccer field at Osoyoos Secondary School and only a few hundred metres from Main Street.
No one was injured as a result of the fire, said Jones.
Almost two dozen members with the Osoyoos Fire Department were on the scene within seconds of receiving the emergency call.
Jones confirmed no one was inside the apartment unit when emergency crews were called to the scene.
Investigators from the provincial fire marshal’s office will also investigate the exact cause of this fire.
The fire caused significant smoke and water damage to the unit and also minor water damage to the unit directly below it as well as smoke damage to the entire building, said Jones.
“While it was nothing serious, there will be smoke damage to the entire building,” he said. “It will be up to the insurance and restoration people to determine the full amount of the damage.”
One tenant who lives across the hall from the unit where the fire broke out said he was spending a quiet afternoon at home watching the Summer Olympic Games on television when a friend called him and informed him a fire had broken out.
He quickly closed all the windows in his unit and didn’t detect any significant smoke damage before leaving his unit and waiting for emergency crews to arrive.
None of the tenants in the six units is believed to have suffered any kind of injury as a result of the blaze.
To top off an extremely busy day, Jones said he received a call around 10 p.m. Wednesday night as a group of people had started a campfire on Green Gables beach near the Holiday Inn hotel.
Jones said he and officers from the RCMP attended the scene and asked the group to put out the fire and they complied without any problems.
“Wood fires are not allowed in the Town of Osoyoos,” said Jones.
The volunteers with his department showed what great teamwork is all about during a very busy day on Wednesday, said Jones.
“Not only were there two fires, but a lot of the guys had to go to work in between,” he said. “Most of our guys have permission from their employers to leave when a fire does break out and that’s why a volunteer department like ours can work so well.
“Not only do the volunteers do a great job, but we need the assistance of the wives and kids of our volunteers and their employers. It takes a real team effort and everybody has to do their part and we’re very lucky to have that kind of team here in Osoyoos.”
Any witnesses to the trailer fire at Nk’Mip RV Campground is asked to contact Osoyoos RCMP at 250-495-7236.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in an apartment building on 89th Street in Osoyoos. The fire is believed to have started in a second floor apartment in the six-plex and no injuries have been reported. (Richard McGuire photo)
