IT could be months before authorities know the cause of the fire that displaced an upper Dundarave family on Sunday, but West Vancouver police have joined the investigation.
The second floor of the home on the 2500-block of Palmerston Avenue was destroyed by flames and a caved-in roof, and the main floor is heavily damaged, according to Martin Ernst, West Vancouver Fire and Rescue chief.
Neighbours of the home began calling for help after hearing at least two explosions loud enough to set off neighbourhood car alarms, and seeing black smoke around 4: 10 p.m.
"Multiple 9-1-1 calls (came in) and that always tells us it's something quite serious. There were reports of a lot of smoke and flames from the deck and (flames) getting into the roof area,' Ernst said.
Firefighters, carried out a "fast attack" to douse the flames and prevent them from spreading to the two adjacent homes. But it was too late to save the burning house. "It had already spread to the attic space, which makes it very difficult to fight at that point," Ernst said.
Luckily, the family of five who live in the home was out running errands at the time of the blaze and no one was hurt, Ernst said.
As of Tuesday, fire investigators were still "digging in" and exploring theories as to what started the fire. Ernst could only confirm the fire appeared be centred around the front of the home. The explosions heard by neighbours very likely happened after the fire started, Ernst said.
Ernst said his team spent Tuesday collecting samples from the burned area and will send them to a lab for analysis, looking for substances that might explain the fire. That process could take weeks or months, Ernst said.
Meanwhile, West Vancouver police have opened a file related to the blaze, though there is nothing that specifically points to foul play, according to Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
"It's too early to say we can rule any possibility in or out on that. We'll wait and see what kind of information comes from the fire investigator's report."
