A Sardis home was destroyed and a family left homeless after a Monday morning fire.

The Chilliwack Fire Department arrived before 10 a.m. to find the blaze had consumed the first floor and had extended into the second floor of the 1960s home on Maitland Avenue.

A couple who said they rented the home (and did not want to provide names) told the Times they woke up in the bedroom as the fire was burning outside on the porch.

The woman said she was awoken by what she thought was a family pet.

"I heard the blinds crackling and I thought it was the cat," she said. "I got up to let the cat out and saw the fire."

The man's face was blackened after he tried to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher before escaping.

The electrical connection to the home was compromised, which caused arcing and a safety concern for firefighters, according to assistant chief Jeff Ullyot.

The fire proved difficult to extinguish and crews were still on scene into the afternoon.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but the man who lived in the house said he thought it might have started in a faulty electrical box.

The couple's four children were at school. Emergency social services provided accommodation for the family.

Commercial fire

Thirty-five firefighters in nine fire trucks from four halls responded to a commercial structure fire at a food business behind the Legacy Pacific complex Sunday night.

At 7: 40 p.m the Chilliwack Fire Department responded to the report of a container fire in the 44000 block of Simpson Road.

An official said the fire started in a grain tote and was the result of spontaneous combustion. Crews found more than 30 of the large, cardboard totes on fire next to a building. The fire extended to the adjacent metal-clad building and proved difficult to extinguish with fire trapped within the walls.

There were no firefighter or civilian injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com