Emergency social services is assisting four people who had to leave their apartments in a building in downtown Salmon Arm following a kitchen fire in one of the suites.
The Salmon Arm Fire Department received multiple calls reporting that flames were coming out a second-storey window at 331 Alexander Street, which houses the Shuswap Pie Company on the first floor.
Crews from both Halls #2 and #3 were dispatched and on arrival, it was discovered that one of the four suites in the building was ablaze. The fire was quickly extinguished and crews were able to contain the fire to the single suite.
All people in the suites were evacuated safely. One of the suites was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Although the other suites did not sustain any fire damage, there was significant smoke damage to the other units. Emergency Social Services was called in to help provide accommodation and support for the four occupants who were displaced.
The fire department's preliminary investigation indicates one of the occupants was cooking and was distracted, then returned to find the fire in the kitchen.
The occupant attempted to put out the fire himself, however, his out-of-date fire extinguisher did not function properly.
"A good lesson here is to be aware when cooking, ensure your smoke alarm and fire extinguishers are in working order. In this case, fortunately, crews knocked down early and heavy fire damage was contained to the one suite," says Fire Chief Brad Shirley.
Businesses below the fire were not impacted and are open as normal.