Investigation continues into Kelowna fire; neighbour says building was a ‘tinderbox’

The fire happened Monday in Kelowna’s Lower Mission neighbourhood, as an old farm building on Casorso Road went up in flames around noon.

A fire that sent a massive plume of black smoke into the Central Okanagan sky remained under investigation on Tuesday.

The fire happened Monday in Kelowna’s Lower Mission neighbourhood, as an old farm building on Casorso Road went up in flames around noon.

Fire investigators were back on Tuesday, trying to determine the fire’s cause. The building had been repurposed, and featured plenty of debris.

The building was supposedly vacant for some time, though police told Global News that they’re trying to confirm if squatters were on residence, which neighbours believed to be the case.

At least two people were inside the building when it caught fire. One was a man who escaped with his dog by jumping from a second-storey window. The other was a woman who also escaped the blaze, but not before suffering significant injuries.

“At the time, we didn’t know that it was an occupied residence, or a building that was occupied,” said fire chief Larry Watkinson.

“We had reports from the owner confirming that no one was residing at that occupancy.”

One neighbour said the fire didn’t come as a surprise. In fact, he said he had city bylaw two weeks prior to the blaze, with officers visiting the barn one week before it burned down.