An East Sooke family is in shock after their Hensbro Place home was destroyed by fire Saturday afternoon.
“It’s just sad — it’s 20 years of history,” said homeowner Brian Henson, the former CRD regional director and property developer for whom the cul-de-sac is named.
He arrived on the scene with his 19-year-old son Cole. Henson also has two daughters, ages three and eight.
“It’s my childhood house,” Cole said.
The Hensons were at the house Friday night and left at 10 p.m. They were planning to leave on a ski trip Saturday morning and stayed with friends in Victoria.
Firefighters from East Sooke and Sooke, as well as Sooke RCMP, B.C. Ambulance Service and B.C. Hydro responded to the fire.
No one was home at the time of the fire, and neighbouring properties were not harmed.
The fire was first noticed about noon by two contractors working on a neighbouring house.
“We thought it was just a fire in the backyard until we heard explosions,” said Tony McArthur, owner of McArthur Contracting.
When the men looked over the three-metre fence separating the two properties, the whole house was engulfed in fire and flames were coming out the windows.
They heard half a dozen explosions and could feel intense heat from 30 metres away.
“It took half an hour for the whole thing to implode and fall over,” said McArthur, who called 911.
Emergency crews had to cut through two large gates to access the property, but it was too late to save the structure, said East Sooke Fire Chief Roger Beck.
“There were several explosions — some large, some small — due to propane tanks and explosive materials in the structure,” Beck said. “We had to hold the guys back at one point because small arms ammunition was exploding.”
There were at least a dozen explosions in all, and debris flew several metres over a neighbour’s fence.
“The house is totally lost, but we managed to save some stuff around the perimeter,” Beck said.
Investigators have not deemed the fire suspicious, but are still investigating.
“It doesn’t appear to be, but you never know,” Beck said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
“There’s too much devastation,” he said.
