Arcing power lines spark early morning house fire in Roberts Creek over the weekend

A house fire that broke out along Beach Avenue was extinguished less than 30 minutes after the fire department was paged, thanks to crews ready to leap into action and a group of neighbours looking out for one another. 

Roberts Creek Volunteer Fire Department (RCVFD) received a page at 8:54 a.m. on July 28 for a structure fire. Nearby neighbours were the first to call in the fire, but it wasn’t flames or smoke which caught their attention. Pat Higgins, fire chief at RCVFD, said calls to 911 reported “arcing and sparking” coming from the pole on Beach Avenue.

The fire started when a large branch came down on the homeowner's BC Hydro service line (called a secondary), pulled it down, pulled the mast, and landed on the roof, where it ignited.

Would have been “massive” arcing at the house and there was arcing at the pole, Higgins said. “It sounded like fireworks out on Beach Avenue and so it was kind of hard to miss.”

The homeowners were off-Coast at the time and Higgins explained that neighbours were able to give them the owner's name, contact information and door code––letting them enter the home without breaking down the door. 

Higgins said the bulk of the fire was a surface burn on the outside of the home.

Once the fire was extinguished, Higgins said crews realized how close the fire was to making its way through the wall and roof system of the home.

While using thermal imaging to look for hot spots, crews discovered discolouration in the top corner of a bedroom, which Higgins said was just on the other side from where the fire was. 

“We could see some heat arcs right up in the top corner of the bedroom, so it was really just starting to make its way into that bedroom when we knocked it down,” he said. 

Higgins and 10 other Roberts Creek firefighters attended the blaze, assisted by seven Gibsons firefighters through the mutual aid program. 

Higgins said their first firefighter was on scene at 9:01 a.m., followed quickly by the rest of the crew, with both department engines on scene by 9:15 a.m.  

At 9:23 a.m. the flames had been completely knocked down, less than 30 minutes from their page out, saving the house and keeping damages almost entirely to the outer surface of the structure. 

The homeowner, Tim Wakaruk was in Whistler when his neighbour called to tell him what was going on. He then headed for the ferry as soon as he could. 

Wakaruk remarked about the level of care the firefighters took inside his house, going as far as cleaning the floor behind them with towels.

“They just took so much care of our place,” he said. “It could have been so much worse if they weren't so good at what they do and our neighbours weren't so amazing to just know what to do without even thinking.”

He said in the days since the fire it has been “one after another” as the community reaches out, offering to help how they can, ranging from getting electricity to the house to rebuilding the roof.

“It's just community, like pure community, here in Roberts Creek. People really care.”

Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.