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House destroyed in blaze

A house off Cedar Avenue was destroyed in an early morning fire on Dec. 18.
62212summerlandHousefire
Firefighters examine the extent of a house fire off Cedar Avenue on Sunday morning.

A house off Cedar Avenue was destroyed in an early morning fire on Dec. 18.

Summerland firefighters received the call around 5 a.m. Two vehicles and 27 firefighters responded. They remained at the scene for 12 hours.

Chad Gartrell, assistant chief of the Summerland Fire Department, said smoke and flames were visible from the main and second floor windows when the firefighters arrived.

“It was a very heavy fire damage,” he said. “It’s a total loss.”

The occupants were not home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to any of the firefighters on the scene.

Gartrell said the fire, at the edge of the urban interface area and near the base of Giant’s Head Mountain, could have been much more serious if it had occurred in summer.

“If it was August, it would have been a lot bigger threat to the wildland,” he said.

The fire is the biggest residential fire of the year in Summerland.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Gartrell said the B.C. Safety Authority has been contacted and may conduct an investigation.