‘Potential to be catastrophic’: Fire sparked at the side of Rutland home

A Rutland family is on edge after discovering a burn mark scorched up the side of their home, damage they say was caused by an overnight fire started by someone using drugs on their property.

Homeowner Adam Cole says he first learned something was wrong when a neighbour pointed out the charred wall. The burn stretched up the exterior of the house, dangerously close to an intake vent.

“It came all the way up the wall, and what’s scary is that it came next to our intake vent,” Cole said.

When he went to inspect the area, he says he found drug paraphernalia, including a pipe and tinfoil, scattered on the ground. He believes someone had been using drugs beside the house and accidentally started a fire.

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“It melted some of the plastic back there, some of the scaffolding,” Cole said.

Cole says the fire appears to have happened in the middle of the night while his family was asleep. What unsettles him most is how close the flames were to the bedrooms.

“My youngest son sleeps right on the other side of that wall, my oldest on the other side, and my wife and I sleep downstairs,” he said. “Had there been a break in the stucco, it would’ve been immediately into our bedrooms.”

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The family is shaken, not only by the damage but by how much worse it could have been.

“It had the potential to be so catastrophic,” Cole said. “I understand people’s need to stay warm in colder times, but it doesn’t make sense to come onto somebody’s property and set a fire directly against their house.”

RCMP say they have concluded the investigation.

For now, Cole says he walks the perimeter of his home every night, checking for any unwanted visitors and hoping nothing like this happens again.

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