Wednesday May 20, 2015 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Splash down Salmon Arm Secondary Grade 12 student Jordan Hislop bombs down the soapy waterslide following the school’s annual grad street painting event held Wednesday, May 13 at the Sullivan campus. See more of the fun on page A13.
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Family grateful for fire response hillcrest: Significant damage to home, no one injured. by barb brouwer obServer STAFF
Fire investigators discovered where a fire started but aren’t sure what ignited the blaze at a home in the 1900 block of 15th Street Se on May 13. “The point of origin was in the garage at the rear wall,” said assistant fire chief Jim nickles on Friday, pointing out an individual had been smoking earlier in the evening but had used an ashtray. “Smoking cannot be eliminated as a potential cause but there are other sources such as electrical that cannot be ruled out.” nickles says there was a large
fuel load at the point of origin, including a couch and items for recycling. Much more important than the cause of the fire to Melissa Korhonen, mother of seven-yearold ryann and nine-year-old Alexis, is that their father Jaret Smith got them safely out of the house. It was the girls’ week to be with their father and Korhonen had turned off her phone for the night. She knew nothing about the fire that started around 10:30 p.m. until seven the next morning when she read a text from Smith’s son. “I call it the happy, ugly cry,” she
says of how terrified she was until she found out the girls were safe. “It was an amazing sense of relief but, at the same time, it’s when your worst nightmare was moments away from being a reality.” Korhonen says both she and Smith are amazed at how fast the firefighters were on scene. The Salmon Arm Fire department responded with some 30 firefighters from Hall 2 and 3 and were on scene until 1 a.m. nickles said Friday the insurance company has yet to make a decision as to whether to repair or See neighbours on page A2
This week A Silver Creek senior has a new roof on her home, thanks to local companies. See A12 for more. The music and poetry of Leonard Cohen are featured in a fundraising effort. See A20.
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Smoky situation: Firefighters blast water at a blaze burning a residence Wednesday night on 15th Avenue SE.
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports................A15-A17 Time Out................... A18 Arts & Events ... A19-A22 Vol. 108, No. 20, 40 pages