No one was injured in a house fire in the 500 block of Hall Street in Nelson Tuesday afternoon.
Two on-duty firefighters and two chief officers initially responded around 12:50 p.m., while off-duty firefighters were called in to assist.
The first crew arrived to find heavy fire and smoke throughout a multi-unit residential rental building, according to the fire department. The building’s older, complex design made firefighting difficult and the flames threatened an adjacent building.
Nelson Police Department officers had evacuated the tenants before firefighters arrived, the department said.
After confirming no rescues were needed, firefighters established a water supply from a nearby hydrant and attacked the fire from outside. Crews brought the fire under control before additional firefighters and equipment arrived and the response shifted to interior firefighting.
The fire was contained to the building where it started.
An adjacent fourplex sustained some damage, but the fire department said an exterior sprinkler system and fire-rated wall helped limit the spread of the fire. Tenants of that building were able to return home later that evening.
A total of 19 firefighters responded with two fire apparatus, a command vehicle and a utility vehicle.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. No damage estimate was provided.
Fire chief Jeff Hebert thanked residents for their patience and support during the response.
The video below shows the home at 704 Herridge Lane ablaze. Neighbouring 515 Hall was also damaged. They are among three homes closely clustered on two lots, also including 519 Hall. BC Assessment indicates the two Hall Street homes were built in 1902 and 1906, respectively, but they are actually older than that. All three homes show up on the city’s July 1899 fire insurance map.
519 Hall has had a particularly fraught history with fire. It suffered a major blaze in March 2003 that displaced six people, including a family of five. A father who saved two of his kids suffered burns in that fire. Although media reports at the time said the house was destroyed, it was ultimately repaired.
The house was also the site of a fire in March 1955, which didn’t do a lot of damage but claimed the life of resident Mary Anna Rowe, 51, who had reportedly been smoking in the living room. Another fire in the Rowe residence in October 1954 was also attributed to smoking. Yet another fire occurred in November 1962 in a pile of trash outside the home, but it was put out quickly.
The three homes are all among the survivors of a number of rooming houses around the 700 block of Herridge Lane (formerly known as Victoria Alley). Several others have long since been demolished.
With files from Greg Nesteroff
