Breaking: House Fire on Bayview Road
- kc dyer
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 13
Road blocked by trucks and hoses
5:00 p.m. update: Alertable has cancelled the Fire Alert for Bayview Road, which has fully reopened. Neighbours reported the demolition of the burned home is completed, and LBFR has left the scene. More information on the fire and an statement with former Fire Chief Barret Germscheid will be forthcoming.
10:30 a.m. update: Public Works Director of Operations Karl Buhr reports that the water system was sufficient for fire-fighting needs this morning. He said the system "establishes drinking water supply, chlorine concentration-time and residual, fire reserves and fire flows for every parcel in the Village by design, not luck," and added that water is the municipality's single highest priority service.
Alertable has downgraded the fire danger from 'critical' to 'advisory' and notes that Bayview Road is now open to local traffic, single-lane only.
8:30 a.m. update: The Watershed has received several reports of large chunks of ash falling in the area of the fire and above.
8:15 a.m. update: Emergency Program Coordinator Mary Brown says that no further structures are at risk, as fire crews continue to work on containing the blaze.
7:40 a.m update: Alertable reports the fire will close Bayview Road for up to 6 hours, and is warning that children, pregnant women and the elderly are more at risk from smoke and toxic fumes and should take all necessary precautions.
Alertable is the app Lions Bay uses for emergency situations, and can be found HERE.
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Original story:
Bayview Road is blocked above the school as Lions Bay Fire Rescue (LBFR) and West Vancouver Fire Department (WVFD) are currently on scene at a house fire.
The house is fully engulfed, and firefighters are concentrating on containing the blaze, which has spread rapidly. The home owner reported hearing a bang around 3:30 a.m., and then seeing sparks. By the time he and his dog got out of the house, he was unable to return for his phone.
Homeowners above the fire were alerted by quick-thinking neighbour Jay Guildenhuys, whose partner Mattie is a captain with LBFD and, on the scene.
The house on fire is directly below the home of former mayor, Douglas Miller.
"I’m very appreciative of the highly skilled nature of their response," Miller said. "I’m also aware of how fortunate the village is to have supported our fire department with excellent equipment and training."
Miller is a former Deputy Fire Chief of LBFD.
Updates to follow as the situation develops.
Hello, I'm a dear friend of Morry, who's house burnt down. He is very devestated. He absolutely loved that house. European chalet style with beautiful wooden doors in every room and thick wood beam stairway, post and beam, it really was a unique and beautiful old house. I think it was built in 1976 from the looks of an Instragram post I found of the daughter of the people who built it. Anyways, everything is gone. He went out onto the balcony where it started and got trapped out in his slippers and unfortunately his two kitties were trapped in. I'm devestated too. They were his first cats he ever had and they were with him since the spring, about…
Good job Karl and the PWD crew. Maintaining the required Fore Reserve in the reservoirs is a critical performance requirement (and duty) of any water department, and is of particular concern during times fo low flow in the creeks. The Village in general does not fully understand the attention that needs to be paid to such issues and the skill and knowledge of the entire public works staff to manage the system to ensure the result this morning.. Well done, and thank you..
Wow great immediate reporting from the Watershed .....of this sad event!
So very terrifying Norma. We found large 3"x2" embers on our driveway and property up here on Mountain Drive (we are a couple of houses down from Sunset). Thank you to our LB Fire Rescue members, to West Vancouver Fire Department and to Jay for his actions. We definitely are very lucky.
When the flames breached the crest of the roof towards our next door home I thought our house was next. The embers were landing on our roof. Thank you Fire Department for saving the neigbouring homes.
If anyone sees a dark or ginger cat in the forest, please let someone know. Morey got his dog out but the cats are missing.