An early morning blaze destroyed a Larch Road residence in Pemberton on March 30.
Deputy fire chief Cameron Adams described the house as "a total loss," noting that the blaze took roughly six-and-a-half hours to extinguish. Crews initially responded to the Larch Street home at 12:49 a.m.
"It was definitely a tough fire to fight and with it being fully involved by the time it was called in, the crew did an amazing job with what they were faced with," he said.
Adams said that there is no indication of a cause.
"It's unclear how it started," he said on April 6.
The blaze left one of the house's tenants, David Sneddon, with third-degree burns to 40-per-cent of his body. He is being treated in Vancouver and is expected to remain in hospital for three to four months. His partner, Ann Chua, suffered burns to her fingers pulling Sneddon from the house.
Chua is temporarily living in housing provided by the Lions Club, but is seeking new permanent housing.
With so much still unknown about Sneddon's condition, Chua said it's difficult to anticipate what they will require in the future.
"There's so much that we need to take care of right now. It's hard," Chua said. "Right now, I can't make long-term plans because I don't know what [Sneddon's] injuries are. I know it will change everything for us."
A GoFundMe set up by Sneddon's sister, Christy, had surpassed its $15,000 goal as of April 6. To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-david-and-ann-rebuild-after-the-fire.
Meanwhile, the homeowners, the Rothdram family, went to the Pemberton Valley Lodge after the fire. Diane Rothdram said on April 3 that the family anticipates moving into a new three-bedroom rental shortly.
For more on this story, pick up the April 9 edition of Pique.
