A Saanich couple and their dog escaped a major house fire early Wednesday morning after a neighbour alerted them to the blaze.
Fire broke out about 6:30 a.m. in the carport and workshop area of a single-family home on Wascana Street near near Burnside Road West and Harriet Road.
Saanich Fire Deputy Chief Dan Wood said flames had just started to burn into the top floor of the residence when a neighbour alerted the couple.
“They ran across [the street] and knocked on the door.”
Fire quickly spread to the bedroom areas of the home and attic off the living room.
“It was a major fire,” Wood said.
Firefighters arrived to see flames shooting “60 to 70 feet up in the air and burning the trees around it and melting the siding off the neighbour’s property and starting on their hedges and grass,” he said.
The displaced couple took refuge in their car just down the street.
A full crew of about 20 firefighters with three fire engines, a rescue truck and a ladder truck responded.
The blaze was knocked down within the hour.
Portions of the roof and ceilings continue to smoulder, however, “so we’re going to be here for some time making sure this building is totally out,” Wood said about 8 a.m.
People in the area reported hearing bangs and explosions.
“If you think about garage and carports and workshops, it is where we keep all of our flammable liquids, especially spray cans of paint, which sound like little gunshots when they go off, and especially cans of gasoline, which heat and vent and eventually explode,” Wood said.
The house has extensive fire and smoke damage but neighbouring properties were protected.
The cause has not been determined and fire investigators have yet to put a dollar figure on the extent of the damage.
There are no early indications that the fire was suspicious, Wood said.
People are asked to avoid Wascana between Burnside and Hampton roads this morning.
Expect traffic delays. Saanich police were on the scene to assist with traffic.
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
