The owner of a burning house in Courtenay reportedly assaulted a firefighter coming to the rescue on Friday.
Firefighters at a residential fire on the 1400 block of 15th Street in Courtenay called for RCMP assistance about 7:00 p.m.
Upon exiting the flaming structure, the owner of the house was “combative” with a firefighter, RCMP said in a statement.
The owner, who was subdued by others by the time police arrived, was arrested for assaulting a firefighter and transported to hospital for smoke inhalation treatment. No other injuries were reported.
Police said that alcohol or drugs may have been a factor.
CHEK News reported that a responding female firefighter was punched in the head during the fire response.
Courtenay Fire Chief Kurt MacDonald said that he had never heard of a firefighter being physically assaulted in his 32-year career at the department.
Neighbour Emily Doll told CHEK News that the owner was upset about his pet cats that were still in the burning home.
He was just “flailing around” at the time and it was likely just “a matter of panic” when he was being hauled out of the home, she said.
