Fruitvale fire sends three to hospital, crews cater to critters
By Kyra Hoggan
Three people were sent to hospital after a house fire in Fruitvale last night, according to Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Chief Terry Martin.
He said the call came in at 6:03 p.m. to attend 21 Duncan Avenue.
“The cause was an unattended pot of grease that was left on the stove,” Martin said. “The fire was contained to a small area in the kitchen.”
He said there were five adults in the house at the time – three were transported to KBRH, one with smoke inhalation, one with smoke inhalation and anxiety issues, and one with burns to both his hands.
“We had crews from Fruitvale, Montrose and Trail attend the scene,” said. “Our crews removed numerous pets from the structure during the incident, one ferret needed a little help.”
He said there was a huge variety of pets in cages – rabbits, snakes, guinea pigs, roosters, pigeons, etc. The ferret’s cage was the one closest to the fire.
“He wasn’t doing so well, when we took him out,” Martin said, adding oxygen perked the little fellow right up, and the Red Cross will arrange for a vet to see him to be sure he’s okay.
“It made me realize that we are not in possession of proper oxygen equipment for pets, so we’ll have to look into that,” he said, adding the majority of house fires they attend involve pets in some way.
As for the house itself, he said there was minimal damage.
Comments