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Smoke detectors alert Rufus Drive resident to basement fire

Firefighters are crediting smoke detectors with averting catastrophe in a house fire in the Kirkstone neighbourhood late last week. District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services received a 9-1-1 call just before 2 a.m. on Dec.
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District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.

Firefighters are crediting smoke detectors with averting catastrophe in a house fire in the Kirkstone neighbourhood late last week.

District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services received a 9-1-1 call just before 2 a.m. on Dec. 11, alerting them to heavy smoke coming from a home on the 2000-block of Rufus Drive.

On scene, they quickly found one room in the home's basement in flames and hit it with hoses.

The lone occupant in the home at the time was taken to hospital for observation, according to assistant fire chief Mike Cairns.

"She was in the upstairs bedroom and the smoke alarms woke her and in getting out of the house, she had some smoke inhalation and some soot around her nostrils so B.C. Ambulance (Service) transported her to Lions Gate Hospital just to be checked out. She is fine," Cairns said.

Investigators were not able to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire but they do know it started in a room used for arts and crafts. "It appeared to be electrical in nature but there were two or three things in the area that could have contributed to the fire so it will go in as undetermined, but most likely electrical," he said.

The fact that two doors were shut between the area of origin and the main floor kept the fire in check in the basement, Cairns said.

The house did sustain smoke damage. Restoration crews were on site the next morning to begin work.