District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services members are crediting a cat with alerting its owners to a fire that dealt heavy damage to their home in Norgate early Friday morning.
The first 9-1-1 calls reporting smoke and flames from the home on Maplewood Crescent came in just after 7 a.m. When the first fire crews arrived shortly after, the inside of the home was already fully engulfed in flames, according to assistant fire chief Brian Hutchinson.
The homeowners, an older couple, made it out on their own without injury.
“Apparently one of the family pets – a cat – alerted them that something was going on by running into the bedroom,” Hutchinson said.
The homeowner first tried to extinguish some of the flames with an outside garden hose and North Vancouver City Fire Department crews joined in the fight to douse the flames and prevent the blaze from spreading.
“One of the main concerns was the exposure on both the north and south side of the building - other single-family residential structures surrounding the area and a large amount of flame and heat being generated from the fire,” Hutchinson said.
Credit for containing the fire is also owed to the neighbours along the street, Hutchinson added.
“There were lot of local residents in the area that were assisting our personnel just with helping them to position their hoses and carry out that kind of activity, which was hugely beneficial. We always appreciate the public, in a safe manner, providing assistance to our crews on scene,” he said.
The couple are receiving help from Emergency Social Services, Hutchinson said.
“I think they’re a little shaken up by the whole incident, as anyone would be, but they seem to be holding up fairly well given that there were no injuries. No one was hurt. That’s the main thing to take into account,” he said.
Assessing where in the home and how the fire started expected to be a difficult task, given the extent of damage to the home, Hutchinson said. Fire investigators are expected to remain on scene all day Friday.
While pets have been known to alert their masters to fire, Hutchinson said it’s the first time he’s seen it happen.
