NANAIMO — A lone occupant and a dog escaped uninjured, however damage to a Selby St. home is significant following a structure fire.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) crews were called to a home on Selby near Campbell St. on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 5 p.m., in response to thick smoke and erupting from the home.
Troy Libbus, NFR assistant chief, said the occupant relayed to firefighters what occurred when they arrived on scene.
“The cause, that he stated, was a candle unattended. It was around some material that caught the roof on fire — he tried to put it out, he couldn’t put it out, and that’s when he left the house.”
Aftermath the morning after a structure fire at 126 Selby St. Security guards, on behalf of the insurance company, were on site Thursday morning, keeping the scene secure until their investigators could arrive. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)
Libbus said their initial approach was an offensive attack, which had to be switched to defensive due to thick smoke and interior clutter.
“It’s really important to keep that clutter down,” Libbus said. ” When you have a situation like this, it can cause some difficulties for firefighters to enter a building or maneuver around.”
Potentially a write-off, Libbus said it will be up to insurance to determine if the home can be salvaged, which will be unhabitable indefinitely.
NFR is investigating to confirm the fire’s cause, Libbus said.
“The homeowner was away and his girlfriend was also away, which we confirmed later on,” Libbus told NanaimoNewsNOW.
The occupant attempted to regain entry and was stopped by a firefighter, Libbus said.
“Get out of the house and stay out of the house. I’m glad he didn’t go back in. We’ve had incidents where people were not successful in the past and we don’t want that to happen in our community or anywhere.”
Libbus said if people elect to use candles, it’s crucial to not leave them unattended.
He recommends using battery-operated candles instead.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews are investigating an apparent accidental structure fire at a Selby St. home. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)
Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up-to-date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.
Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook