This story was originally published on Feb. 21, 2015.
MOUNT WASHINGTON — Without fire protection services on Mount Washington, residents watched helplessly as flames engulfed three chalets and burned them to the ground.
A fire started about 10:30 p.m. Thursday in one of the chalets on Fosters Place, spreading quickly to two nearby houses.
A family of four was staying in one of the chalets, but they got out safely. The other chalets were unoccupied.
Two fire hydrants are near the houses, but nobody knew where to find the hoses, said Rick Gibson, a Mount Washington realtor and a chalet owner. With the alpine ski resort closed for business due to lack of snow, there were few residents to call to ask.
“There are many people up here that know where there are hoses and know how to hook them up, but if those people aren’t here, it can’t happen,” Gibson said.
Gibson said the concrete structure of one chalet might have helped prevent flames from spreading to other houses farther up the street. The mild weather was also a factor.
“A fire on Mount Washington is something we’ve always feared,” Gibson said. “It could have been a lot worse. If the winds were a little bit heavier, it could have gone through the village. Thankfully also it wasn’t August or September, so everything was wet.”
Without fire protection services, the only time fire departments from the Comox Valley Regional District are deployed to Mount Washington is if there is an imminent risk to human life. Otherwise 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.
“[Mount Washington residents] don’t pay for the service so they don’t get the service. Our taxpayers pay for us to provide a service here and we can’t leave our jurisdiction willy nilly.”
Lynette Acciaroli, who lives down the road from the site of the fire, said she discovered something was wrong when her dogs began “freaking out” about 11:15 p.m.
“I poked my head out the door just to see if someone was in the driveway or what’s going on, and the flames were coming out of the loft window in the middle chalet. Three houses, we watched them burn,” said Acciaroli, a full-time resident on Mount Washington. “It was devastating and heartbreaking.”
Evelyn Tennant, who owns a chalet next door to the three that burned, was grateful when her son checked it Friday and found minimal damage. The log cabin-style chalet was charred on one side and the double-paned windows burst from the heat. It was vacant during the blaze.
“We were very fortunate that we were spared,” Tennant said.
Tennant said she voted for fire protection in the last referendum.
“We’re hoping that it will come around again and we can put it through the next time around,” she said. “We have insurance on our home and it is costly, but you definitely have to have it here.”
Sue Twose, who owns a property across from the ones destroyed, said there’s strong support for fire protection. While she believes the chalet where the fire started was probably doomed, there could have been a different outcome for the others. “You’d like to think that if a fire department would [respond], then the other chalets beside it could have been saved,” Twose said.
After fire destroyed a chalet in March 2009, Comox Valley Regional District staff completed examined the cost and feasibility of providing fire service to Mount Washington. Courtenay Fire is the closest department, but the response time for the 2009 fire was nearly 40 minutes in good weather conditions, the report found.
A referendum was held in 2003 to establish a fire department, but residents voted against it.
“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.”
Gibson, who sells Mount Washington real estate, said there are many places in B.C. that don’t have fire protection.
“People, when they purchase properties, they know that,” Gibson said. “So, a lot of people have their own fire extinguishers in their properties. They have a sprinkler system and hoses outside. What it comes down to is that the insurance companies are satisfied there is no fire protection, so everybody has fire insurance.”
Residents on Mount Washington pay high insurance premiums. Some said after the last fire in 2009, their fees doubled. Some pay as much as $4,000 a year. Advertised prices for chalets on Fosters Place range from about $325,000 to $800,000.
Gibson said the fire could revive interest in having a fire protection service. “The concern I have and a lot of people have is not about the damage to the buildings but loss of life,” he said. “Whatever the cost of putting in a fire department, if it saves lives, it’s worth every cent.”
In a statement, the Comox Valley Regional District expressed relief that there was no loss of life or injury. The fire “brings the establishment of fire protection services to the forefront. The CVRD will continue to work with strata councils and other corporate entities to develop a fire protection service that will meet the needs of Mount Washington property owners,” the statement said.
Comox Valley RCMP are investigating the fire. Whether a fire inspector will be called in to investigate the cause is uncertain.
Additional reporting by Michael Briones, Comox Valley Echo
