Investigators are looking to find the cause of a fire that badly damaged a North Vancouver heritage home on Friday evening.
The first 9-1-1 calls came in just after 5 p.m. for the blaze in the 300 block of West 15th Street. When North Vancouver City Fire crews arrived, they found heavy flames coming from the home’s main floor and spreading into bedrooms upstairs.
“Crews did an aggressive interior attack, knocked the fire down and checked for extension into different areas of the house. There’s heavy smoke and water damage throughout the main and upper (floor) and some water damage in the basement,” said Fire Chief Dan Pistilli.
No one was hurt in the fire. The family who owns the heritage home built in 1912 was out of the country at the time, Pistilli said. The tenant who lives in the basement suite is currently staying with neighbours.
The home is now boarded up and insurance and restoration companies are assessing the damage. Pistilli said he believes the home, which is an older home that has been updated, can be salvaged.
Contrary to some media reports, the fire is not related to Christmas lights and there was no Christmas tree in the home, Pistilli said. He added investigators are still trying to pinpoint where the fire started but “the initial focus is electrical.”
Christmas tends to be a busy time for fire departments, when people are more inclined to overload electrical circuits, leave candles burning and bring combustible trees inside.
“Just be extra careful with all of that,” Pistilli said.
