Fire crews from Agassiz, Popkum and Harrison Hot Springs were on scene to battle a duplex structure fire on Logan Road late Saturday afternoon.
Just across Morrow Road, the Agassiz fire department received the page at 5:50 p.m. and arrived to contain the blaze soon after.
“There were three children home at the time,” said Agassiz fire chief Wayne Dyer. “We’re just lucky the fire vented out through the window—all the heat went out that window instead of the rest of the house.”
All residents got out of the building and were checked over by BC Ambulance. No one was sent to the hospital.
The fire started in the upper floor bedroom by a failed electrical heater that was too close to bedding.
Fire fighters contained the fire to the bedroom where it started, but there was heavy smoke and heat damage to that side of the structure.
The other side of the duplex also took smoke damage.
A six-foot ball python and two kittens were also saved from the fire by fire crews.
In all, 20 Agassiz firefighters were joined by five Popkum and five Harrison members to tackle the flames.
Chief Dyer also credits some newly installed gear for the quick containment.
A telescoping monitor allowed his team to quickly and remotely stream water through the home’s windows to cool it down before crews went in and “mopped up.”