Dramatic footage of a fire tearing through a house in Genoa Bay was caught on camera last night.
Several viewers reached out to share the information just after 8 p.m. last night.
Fire department officials say no one was hurt and the cause is still being investigated.
Martin Drakely, the Chief for the North Cowichan Fire Department says due to the sheer size of the fire, crews could only attack the blaze from the exterior.
“It’s a very large home, around 7,000 square feet. It’s also a non-hydrant area, so we had to call in additional halls,” he said during a phone interview with CHEK.
According to Drakely, it took a lot of work for firefighters to extinguish the blaze. “We had approximately 30 firefighters on scene, from inside of North Cowichan we had our station four, three, and two show up and the City of Duncan, and Cowichan Bay,” he added.
One resident says she heard explosions from her moored boat before she spotted the blaze.
“We heard a couple bangs. It was dark by that time we were having dinner, but it was kind of a bang, then a second bang, then we saw the glow,” said Stacey Kincaid, who had her boat moored nearby.
“A lot of people in the Duncan area know it because it used to be a resort back in the day,” said Reid Mitchell who lives nearby and witnessed the fire. “The owners had been putting in an incredible amount of work into it so just a shame that work is going down the drain.”
The property dates back to 1885 and used to be known as Genoa Bay Lodge & Captain Morgan’s Lodge.
It appears to have been sold about two years ago. Renovations had been ongoing since then by the new owners.
“There are so many stories about Captain Morgan’s,” added Mark Moore who also lives nearby. “There was a one-ton sailboat hung in the living room and yeah it’s been a part of the community for a long time and there’s been a lot of stories about it.”
The fire in Genoa Bay lit up the marina last night, as seen from one viewers submitted photo. | Scott Sutherland
CHEK News
