An off-duty RCMP officer twice charged into a burning house containing tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosive black powder to rescue two men and a woman in Lake Cowichan early Sunday.
Occupants of the house escaped without serious injuries.
The blaze set off the ammunition and caused explosions, waking neighbours shortly after 4:40 a.m.
Now the small community of 3,300 is rallying to help the Bell family, long-time local residents. Mike Bell, son Travis and a woman believed to be a family member were in the house at the time of the fire.
The family had no insurance, Lake Cowichan Volunteer Fire Department Chief Doug Knott said Monday.
The fire was spotted by a neighbour who called 911 and knocked on the door of 20 Cowichan Ave. E. to wake up those inside but did not get a response.
An RCMP officer who saw the fire while driving to work managed to get inside the house, however. He woke two men in their bedrooms and helped them outdoors to safety, police said.
When the officer, who was not named by the department, was told a woman was in the house, he went back in and got her out as well.
The rescue happened just in time. “The home became fully engulfed in flames shortly after the third occupant was removed,” RCMP said in a statement.
Emergency Health Services checked all three over.
Sgt. Lita Watson, Lake Cowichan RCMP detachment commander, called the officer’s actions and bravery commendable.
“He put his own life in danger, without even a second thought, to help those people who would have been severely injured,” said Watson, who also praised the neighbour for trying to wake the occupants and for calling for help.
“These neighbourly acts really speak to the close-knit and supportive community we live in here in Lake Cowichan.”
The Emergency Management Cowichan organization is helping the Bells with accommodation.
Knott said it was known that the late John Bell, former owner of the home, had been involved in target shooting and used black powder.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they learned there were tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition on the basement floor. A shotgun, rifle, hobby pistol and a couple of pounds of black powder were present as well, he said.
Firefighters kept safe behind trucks and sprayed water onto the main house. It was deemed safe to approach a garage and storage shed.
Water was sprayed on the ammunition, and an excavator was brought in to take out the walls and floors to help reach the ammunition to cool it.
Knott said the fire appears to have started in an area where there was wiring for a greenhouse behind the house.
The site will require a hazmat cleanup, he said.
Robert Nonis, who lives about three quarters of a kilometre from the fire, said the sounds of explosions woke him up early Sunday.
When he went by the property on Monday, there was a large pile of metal remaining. The side of the garage was melted.
Neighbour Tara Fraser has set up an online fundraiser to help the Bell family.
“They have lost everything as the entire structure was swallowed up in flames,” she said on the fundraising page, at: https://tinyurl.com/yc5kjrbc. “Thank you for any and all kindness at a time when the world can be hard on all of us.”
Local resident Jenny Bradford acted as a drop-off for clothes for the family on Sunday. Many people donated enough for the family to get through the next few days.
“The Bells have deep roots and many friends in town and in the valley, and we are all waiting to hear from them what they need and then we’ll try to get it for them,” she said. “Every time I look, someone else is fundraising and helping.”
The Lake Cowichan Country Grocer is acting as one of the donation points. By late afternoon Monday, more than $1,500 had been raised, said owner Jo-Anne Pimlott.
The store donated food for Tuesday’s fundraising lunch at the Lake Cowichan 50+ Activity Centre.
Pimlott praised community members who she said are the ones doing all the work to help the family.
The activity centre posted a notice saying it is accepting donations for Mike Bell, whose father, John Bell, was a long time member at the centre.
Acting Mayor Carolyne Austin said she has lived in Lake Cowichan for 40 years and any time someone needs something, “the whole community comes together.”
A local church has raised $1,100 for the family and other businesses and organizations are all pitching in.
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