Heavy damage as fire engulfs Victoria house; one person hurt

Sounds of things falling from the roof and the thick smell of smoke prompted Kara Myrfield and two other residents to flee before their Empire Street home became engulfed in flames Friday afternoon. Myrfield said it was about 12:30 p.m.

The upper suite of a house at 2521 Empire St. is seen burning in this photo captured by Anne Riches.

Sounds of things falling from the roof and the thick smell of smoke prompted Kara Myrfield and two other residents to flee before their Empire Street home became engulfed in flames Friday afternoon.

Myrfield said it was about 12:30 p.m. when she called 911, summoning dozens of Victoria police and firefighters to the home at 2521 Empire Street, and shutting down Bay Street for just under an hour.

Myrfield, the landlord and his mother, who live in the upper suite and were also home at the time.

A middle-aged woman, who family members say has lived in the top part of the house for many years, was taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.

Victoria police arrived first, made sure no one else was in the house and evacuated neighbouring homes.

Steve Murray, who lives one block away on Wesley Place, said he smelled smoke coming through his windows and walked outside to see flames shooting up.

Murray hopped the fence separating the backyard from a neighbouring park to check if anyone was inside the home. The heat was too much so he went around the side and saw that the residents had already made it out.

Victoria Fire Capt. Mark Mastiliak said firefighters were on scene within minutes, but the back of the house was already fully engulfed.

“We had a crew go in through the front of the building as well as a crew taking a line around the back and attacked the fire both ways,” Mastiliak said. “We were able to knock it down fairly quickly.”

The fire appears to have started in the kitchen on the home’s upper level, Mastiliak said, and spread to a second-storey deck at the back of the house.

A fire inspector will be checking for hot spots to determine the cause of the fire. The damage is estimated at $160,000.

Myrfield said she does not have tenants insurance and that many of her possessions might have suffered water damage.

Emergency Social Services was called in to assist residents with relocation.

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