Four people, two of them trapped in a basement, have been saved from a house fire in Kelowna on Thursday morning, Aug. 15.

At about 7:40 a.m., the Kelowna Fire Department (KFD) received reports of a house fire with a woman and her three cats trapped in the basement. The woman who was trapped called the fire in.

Crews arrived quickly to the scene at 2451 Sexsmith Road, knocking down the fire and getting all four people out of the house safely. Two were rescued through the basement window while the other two were taken out the backdoor of the home.

One of the occupants tried to use garden hose to put the contents fire out. After the fire was put out, smoke was still heavy in the basement of the home.

All four people are being looked at by emergency services for smoke inhalation. Three of the people were visitors to the home and all taken to hospital. The occupant of the house will not be able to go back home at this time. 

In total, KFD responded with three engines, a rescue unit, a safety unit, a command unit, and a deputy chief, totalling 17 personnel.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated at this time.