Courtenay Family Safely Escapes Early-Morning Fire

A Courtenay family safely escaped an early-morning fire that badly damaged their home.

“Upon arrival, we found that the house had about two-thirds of the roof fully involved,” said Courtenay fire chief Kurt MacDonald, adding he’s fortunate everyone escaped unscathed.

“All four occupants were out upon arrival. Once we got set up, we were able to get some water on the fire and knock it down.”

Around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, crews from the Courtenay Fire Department were called to the structure fire in the 1000-block of Arrowsmith Avenue, off Malahat Drive in Courtenay, according to MacDonald.

The house had had about two-thirds of the roof fully involved, said MacDonald, adding that the homeowner is fortunate everyone escaped unscathed.

Homeowner Phillip Hinksman says he was home with his wife and two daughters when he discovered a fire in an upstairs bathroom.

A ceiling fan had broken into two and caught fire.

MacDonald says firefighters were on the scene of another structure fire when they were called to the blaze on Arrowsmith Avenue.

Through their mutual-aid agreement, Oyster River and Merville fire departments assisted with the other structure fire, while Comox Fire Rescue helped with the home on Arrowsmith Avenue.