Update: Home burns south of the river
Paul Brigg's uninsured home was badly damaged, if not destroyed, during Wednesday afternoon's fire near Duncan.
Firefighters with North Cowichan and Duncan halls left the scene at around 4:30 p.m. after three hours of battling the blaze, then snuffing hot spots.
The inferno left Briggs homeless. He's being helped by regional emergency social services while staying with family, an ESS agent said.
Briggs reported the fire that took his home.
"I noticed smoke in the carport when I was going to the pool hall," the eight-year resident of Silver Park Trailer Park said, watching North Cowichan firefighters, with pumper backup from Duncan's hall, fight flames and smoke billowing skyward at 422 Cedar Rd.
Briggs guessed the blaze, he reported at around 1:30 p.m., started in the workshop attached to his mobile home.
"There's lots of dirt, and sawdust and tools in there," he said, noting there was a wall and a door between the shop and the main part of his home.
There were no other people, nor pets, inside the senior's home.
Investigation continued into the fire's exact cause, after smoke was initially spotted in the home's chimney area.
Neighbours noted there hadn't been a fire at Silver Park — adjacent to reserve land off Boys Road — for many years.
Briggs' next move is up to him, ESS' Sybille Sanderson explained.
"Ultimately, he has to figure out where he'll live in the future."
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