(Update – Wednesday at 8:45 a.m.): The City of Enderby has confirmed that a fire on Tuesday was at a suspected drug house that was condemned last month. 

It was decided to condemn the property after "controlled substances" and "hazardous conditions" were observed during an RCMP arrest in the building. 

On Tuesday, as the occupants were vacating the house, the fire department responded to a structure fire there.

Photo credit: City of Enderby“There is a lot of smoke damage and some water damage,” said fire chief Cliff Vetter.  

“Most of the damage was in the basement. We had to remove part of a wall where the flames got inside, but we were able to save the building. A fire investigation is pending.”

Enderby Mayor Greg McCune said: “The action to condemn the building only could have happened with strong cooperation between the City and RCMP.

"It was our finding that this building contained a number of hazardous conditions that made it unfit for habitation. At this point, we do not know the cause of the fire for certain, but this serious situation could have been much worse, and potentially tragic,” said Enderby Mayor Greg McCune." 

(Original story – Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.): Enderby Fire Rescue attended to a fire at 1908 George Street in Enderby on Tuesday.

According to Fire Captain Cliff Vetter, the fire began at approximately 1:20 p.m. in the southeast corner of the home.

Thankfully, the fire hall is within close proximity of the house affected and crews were able to respond quickly, effectively extinguishing the fire and mopping up by around 2:30 p.m.

“It could have been ugly, you see all that smoke and you go holy smokes, it’s going to be bad; but we get there and we hit it just in the right spot and knocked it down really quick,” said Vetter.

Photo Credit: Enderby Fire Rescue

One occupant was inside the house at the time of the fire but managed to escape unharmed.

Vetter’s preliminary investigations indicated that the fire was most likely caused from an electrical issue, though he stated that he would conduct a more thorough investigation Wednesday morning.

Reports say that the house was recently condemned as an inhabitable living space resulting from the presence of controlled substances, but NowMedia was unable to confirm these reports.

NowMedia has reached out to the City of Enderby for more information.