Three Mount Washington chalets burned to the ground early today after fire broke out about 10 p.m. on Thursday.
The fire started in one chalet and spread to two neighbouring chalets.
Only one chalet was occupied and everyone got out safely.
There is no fire protection at Mount Washington so once it’s determined there’s no threat to human life, the homes are left to burn, said Courtenay Fire deputy chief Kurt MacDonald. “If there’s nobody trapped or any risk to a life, then nobody goes,” he said.
If someone was trapped or the fire had spread to the forest, then the provincial emergency program or the B.C. Fire Service is notified and they can page an area fire department, MacDonald said.
“The province of B.C. would have determined whether they wanted to send a department and they would have said no,” MacDonald said.
“There's no agreement in place so therefore [Mount Washington residents] don't pay for the service so they don't get the service,” MacDonald said. “Our taxpayers pay for us to provide a service here and we can’t leave our jurisdiction willy nilly.”
After fire destroyed a chalet in March 2009, Comox Valley regional district staff completed a study to examine the cost and feasibility of providing fire service to Mount Washington. Courtenay Fire is the closest fire department, but the response time for the 2009 fire was nearly 40 minutes in good weather conditions, the report found.
Property owners voted against establishing a fire service for Mount Washington.
“So everybody up there is aware of the situation they’re in,” MacDonald said. “They chose to roll the dice and then it bites you.”
