A man was arrested at a residence in North Cowichan in the early morning hours of Aug. 16 after police responded to a domestic dispute. Hours later, a fire gutted the home.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé said the situation escalated after officers arrived at the Westridge Road residence at approximately 2:15 a.m., prompting the RCMP Emergency Response Team to be called in to assist.
Bérubé said that after the man was taken into custody, a fire was detected in the home and the North Cowichan Fire Department was called to the scene. Ambulance services also attended, but no injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
North Cowichan Fire Chief Ron French said crews arrived at around 9:30 a.m. to find one side of the duplex engulfed in flames.
He said everyone in the home got out before the arrival of fire crews.
“We had about 20 members of our fire department working to put out the fire and we contained to that one unit,” French said. “The home was a complete write-off. The other side of the duplex was under renovation so there was no one in there. That part of the duplex was not too damaged in the fire.”
Police are continuing to investigate the man arrested at the scene, and fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Frances Irene, who lives nearby, called the fire “devastating” for the family and the neighbourhood.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fire department coming so quickly,” she said in a public Facebook post. “It was terrifying watching this unfold and knowing the risk we were all in. They put out the fire fast and efficiently, saving our houses.”
A fundraiser has been set up for the woman and five children who also lived in the home, who are left with nothing after the fire.
"They experienced a very traumatic event this morning and they have lost their home in a fire," wrote Gillian Larocque on the fundraising page. The family could use the money for food, clothes or dog food, etc. as they have lost everything in the fire."
