Fire Not Suspicious

It's not suspicious.

The Penticton Fire Department has completed its investigation into the structure fire that gutted a downtown business over the weekend.

Around 4 p.m. Sunday, the Wild Rose Cottage Gallery on Main Street went up in flames.

Deputy Chief Dave Spalding says they have determined the fire started near the building's furnace.

“It looks like it started in the furnace area. Due to the amount of damage that's all we can really tell, is that it started somewhere near the furnace. We can't tell if it was due to the furnace's motor, if it backfired, or if it was poor housekeeping,” says Spalding.

He says the owner does have insurance to cover the losses, but an exact number isn't available.

“It takes a couple of days for the claims adjuster to get back to us with a figure, but we expect it will be a very large figure,” says Spalding.

He says he is pleased with the effort made by the fire fighters.

“A fire like this, in an old building, could have very easily spread to the surrounding buildings. I'm very glad we were able to prevent that,” says Spalding.