Al Chipney, from Okanagan Restoration, throws charred building materials through a hole in the wall at a home on Braeburn Place. The house is currently uninhabitable, due to a fire on Jan. 27. Photo by Laurena Weninger - Click on picture for larger image

OSOYOOS TIMES-February 3, 2010

By Laurena Weninger - Osoyoos Times

“I actually woke up minutes before the smoke alarm went off, and it felt like something was wrong,” said Sharon Hiller, about the night of the fire that burned her and her young family out of their home.
Hiller was asleep in an upstairs bedroom when the fire broke out in their home on Braeburn Place on Jan. 27.
Her seven-month-old son, Talon, was also asleep in an upstairs bedroom.
Hiller’s fiancé, Dave Lowton, was downstairs, also asleep.
Hiller said when she woke up, her house seemed hazy and smelled smoky – though a slight smoky smell wasn’t uncommon due to the wood fireplace the couple used for heat. She made her way downstairs to investigate.
The next few minutes were a blur to Hiller.
Smoke alarms started going off and she headed back upstairs, still trying to figure out the source of the smoke.
“Big, thick, black smoke started pouring out of the vents, oozing out of the return air (duct),” said Hiller, who by then was starting to assume there was a chimney fire.
“You could actually hear the crackling fire burning in the wall,” she said.
When she reached the upstairs bathroom, the pipes had burst and water was spraying everywhere.
“I went into Talon’s room,” she said.
The baby was still asleep.
“I wrapped him up in his quilt, put my fleece sweater over his head, grabbed the diaper bag and car seat, booked it outside and called 911.”
Lowton was trying to figure out where the fire was coming from when the Osoyoos Volunteer Fire Department showed up.
Department Chief Rick Jones said the call came in via 911 just after 11 p.m.
The fire appears to have started in the floor under the wood stove and then moved up the wall, into the roof and attic, he said, adding that there wasn’t much clearance between the stove and the floor and wall, although there was a metal firebox designed to keep the heat from starting such a fire.
But over time, Jones said, the heat transfer through the metal likely took its toll, and the wood behind it finally ignited.
“It had been smoldering for a long time before we were called,” he said.
The department was on scene for several hours, wrapping up their work at the house after 3 a.m.
Jones said the official cause of the fire is still being investigated and the house is in pretty rough shape.
When Hiller went into the house after the fire was out, she was shocked at the devastation.
“The water from the fire hoses spread through the ceilings, and they collapsed,” she said. The sunken living room was filled with water.
“Everything was in a giant lake. Things went floating by.”
Hiller said the restoration company, Okanagan Restorations, showed up on the scene by 3 a.m. on the night of the fire, to board up and secure the home.
They’ve been working quickly since then to salvage what they can of the family’s belongings.
Some items, like plastic dishes and the baby’s plastic toys, are not salvageable.
Other items, like clothes and possessions made from glass, can be cleaned.
The family was insured, said Hiller, who works at Osoyoos’s Eisenhut Insurance but is on maternity leave.
Lowton works at Fernandes Farms.
“Insurance is a very important purchase,” Hiller said with a laugh, pointing out the family is in pretty good shape and has most of what they need to get by for the near future.
They’ve been spending the last few days staying with a relative, but need to find a larger place to rent soon.
It will likely take about six months before they can get back into the home, Hiller said, and they will have to gradually build up their possessions again.
Top of the list for Talon is a playpen, bouncy chair and toys that all had to be thrown away.
reporter@osoyoostimes.com

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