The cause of a fire that destroyed a heritage home on McClure Street in Victoria Monday afternoon may never be known.
The fire erupted during the noon hour, and spread so quickly, 2 young brothers had to rush to get their grandmother, younger sibling, and tenants out safely.
One of the boys suggested the fire might have been sparked by an old lamp. But Deputy Fire Chief Dan Atkinson says the cause may never be determined due to the extensive damage.
He says the blaze left the home too unsafe for a thorough inspection, adding the age and construction type of the 110-year-old home allowed the flames to move quickly:
"The type of construction, balloon frame construction, there's no fire stops in between floors which allows fire spread to occur very quickly and travel up into the structure. The other contributing factor to this was there were several exposed walls and studs lacking drywall and again, sufficient fire stops. So the fact the property was under a level of renovation led to the fast fire spread as well."
Atkinson says he can't violate the privacy of the family, but assures they are being cared for.