There was extensive damage done to a house on the 600 block 4th St. West in Warman after an early morning fire on April 16.
Warman Fire Rescue was dispatched at 3:30 a.m. and once fire fighters arrived on scene, the back of the house was already engulfed in flames according to Warman Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Schwartz.
Schwartz said the fire originated from the back deck, but exactly how it started is still undetermined, as there are multiple variables that could have caused it.
“It did start at the southwest corner of the deck and then it worked it’s way up to the house, he said “There was a propane tank that caught on fire which led the fire up to the roof line and then from there it started the roof on fire.”
Schwartz mentioned that they had the fire under control and contained after 20 minutes they arrived on scene, stopping any further damage to the house. But, it took an extra hour-and-a-half making sure there were no hot spots and that there was nothing burning inside the walls.
The three occupants inside the house got out safely and there were no injuries.
“The daughter, actually heard some sparking going on outside in the back (of the house), so she told her dad and then from there they came out and called 911,” Schwartz said.
Firefighters were able to save the structure of the house but there was substantial damage to the roof and back of the house.
“The saving grace of the house was the stucco; if it was vinyl siding, the whole house would have been on fire. However, the stucco saved the house and then the fire pushed it’s way up into the rafters and then to the roof line,” said Schwartz.
Schwartz said there is at least $150,000 in damages done to the house.
None of the neighbouring homes were damaged, including the two houses next door on either side of the house fire.
“Both sides were protected from two lines that we had from the fire truck. So we did an exposure attack. So basically all we were doing was making sure that both houses were covered,” said Schwartz.
The residents of those two homes were initially evacuated but were able to return after an hour when it was deemed safe to.
