‘Seconds to get out’: Kelowna man who escaped burning building recounts incident

It’s been a week since a supposedly vacant building went up successful flames on Kelowna, B.C.’s Casorso Road.

Micheal Praught and his canine narrowly escaped superior wounded while fleeing nan burning building past Monday by jumping retired of a second-storey window.

“I mean, we had, like, seconds to get out,” Praught said. “It was conscionable smoke, I couldn’t spot nothing. By nan clip I sewage retired and sewage nan canine out, that was it.”

Praught and his canine made it to a ledge connected nan 2nd storey earlier bystanders came to thief them down. The melodramatic segment was captured connected video.

A female was besides wrong astatine nan clip and escaped but not earlier suffering superior injuries. Praught says nan female is still successful hospital.

“My ex-girlfriend, she had to jump retired nan second-story model for illustration that. She collapsed her tailbone and has third-degree burns,” he said.

The building had supposedly been vacant for immoderate time, though constabulary told Global News they were trying to corroborate if squatters were astatine nan residence, which neighbours believed to beryllium nan case.

“At nan time, we didn’t cognize that it was an occupied residence aliases a building that was occupied,” occurrence Chief Larry Watkinson said past Tuesday.

“We had reports from nan proprietor confirming that nary 1 was domiciled astatine that occupancy.”

However, Praught says he had been surviving location for astir 2 years.

“Yeah, I was location full-time arsenic information much aliases less, staying there,” Praught said. “He gave maine a bully woody connected it, and I was staying location and took attraction of nan property.”

Trending Now

Global News was not capable to corroborate Praught’s statement pinch nan spot owner.

Two weeks earlier nan fire, a neighbour contacted metropolis bylaw services pinch concerns astir nan spot and imaginable squatters successful nan area.

At that clip Praught says he was fixed a informing to cleanable up a ample number of tires adjacent to nan building.

“Bylaw Services attended nan Casorso spot 5 times successful nan past 2 years,” nan City of Kelowna said successful an email to Global News.

“Four of those files were dealt pinch and closed. The 5th was opened successful early July and was being dealt pinch earlier nan fire.”

In nan email, nan metropolis besides outlined really it addresses problems pinch uninhabited buildings, which includes having bylaw services respond to and analyse complaints from nan public.

The metropolis and occurrence section besides supply a model for really vacant properties should beryllium cared for and if nan proprietor fails to meet that framework, metropolis labor tin bring nan spot up to modular astatine nan disbursal of nan owner.

Meanwhile, Praught believes a discarded cigaret successful nan backyard whitethorn person caused nan blaze, however, an investigation is still ongoing.