Firefighters from Crofton, Maple Bay, South End, Chemainus and Ladysmith were called Saturday to help fight a fire that destroyed outbuildings and an RV and caused extensive damage to a Crofton home.
“We were very lucky that we had no wind, because it’s quite a congested area the way that they’re building houses and all the forest right beside it,” said Crofton Fire Chief Ken Rukus.
“So we were really lucky that it didn’t get away into the bush or we would have been looking at a very serious situation.”
The alarm came in at 11:03 a.m. when the homeowners’ daughter, who lives in the Adelaide Street house, called 911, Rukus said.
Firefighters were on the scene for more than three hours. There were no injuries and the cause is still under investigation.
The fire started in a backyard workshop of a house and then spread to the house, Rukus said, adding that crews worked hard to keep the flames from spreading into nearby trees.
People should take the fire as a reminder that dry conditions already exist on the Island, he said.
“It’s just a big thing for people [to remember] to beware right now. We are already so dry and it’s only May. If this was an August fire, we probably would have lost a lot more.”
