A Pemberton Heights house fire Sunday has left at least six dogs dead and two seniors out of their home.
District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and North Vancouver City Fire Department both responded to the home on the 1000-block of West Keith Road around 10:30 a.m. By that point, the home was already engulfed and a plume of smoke was visible from across the North Shore.
"City crews were down by the (Northshore) Auto Mall doing some practising and they could actually see the smoke when they were leaving," said Jim Bonneville, assistant chief with the district's fire department. "They went part way into the home in the basement to extinguish what they could but it was very, very heavily involved with lots of fireload - as it's called - inside," Making matters worse, the basement was extremely cluttered, giving plenty of fuel to the fire and making it hard for firefighters to move. The homeowners, a husband and wife in their 70s, were taken to Lions Gate Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, Bonneville said, possibly because they had attempted to rescue their pets inside. There were six or seven dogs in the house, according to Bonneville.
"All the dogs had perished.. .. We managed to recover five of them. There were possibly one or two more in the home at some point, possibly upstairs, but we couldn't get anywhere near it. The fire broke through the floors and it was just too dangerous for crews to go inside." The house is a total loss. Because it is structurally unsafe, a security guard will be posted to the site until the investigation is complete and the home demolished, Bonneville said Though it is apparent the fire started in the basement, Bonneville said it's unlikely that fire investigators will find the exact cause. "It's hard to know at this time," he said. "Even the investigator couldn't get too close to the house." The intense and destructive blaze should be a reminder about what to do if you find yourself in a burning building, Bonneville said. "Get out as soon as you can. Call 9-1-1. Don't go back. Just don't. ... It was unfortunate for them with their pets. They're obviously pretty upset, but it could always be worse," he said.
