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Smoke alarms alerted a five-member Campbell River family to a fire inside their home, allowing them all to escape Saturday.

“That gave them the opportunity to get out in time. The fire spread incredibly fast throughout the house,” said Campbell River Fire Chief Thomas Doherty.

The alert came in at 8:55 a.m. The blaze sent a massive cloud of dark-coloured smoke into the air.

“We were on scene in just a couple of minutes and it was already well-engulfed,” Doherty said.

One person was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation. The others are being assisted by emergency support services. “They were all basically adults,” Doherty said.” The youngest was a 17-year-old.”

The family has insurance for the two-storey, single-family house on Murphy Street, Doherty said.

Modern homes tend to burn more quickly because of the make-up of decor, he said.

“A lot of the decorative materials being used inside a home, like the carpeting or furnishings, are synthetic and petroleum-based products and they go up really quickly,” he said.

“So essentially you are putting fuel inside the home.”

CR Firefighters battle early morning fire. 5 occupants displaced as fire speads through home in just minutes. Working smoke alarms save lives. pic.twitter.com/h7BtXGoPOf
— Campbell River Fire (@RiverCityFire) December 12, 2020

In the past, homes would take about 17 minutes to reach the “flash-over point” — when furnishings and other objects in a room reach their ignition temperature. These days it takes two to three minutes, Doherty said.

“When you see that happening within two to three minutes, that’s the importance of having a smoke alarm,” he said. “That early detection, early notification to the fire department and then quick response by the fire department is really critical.”

Doherty said he highly recommends home buyers look for installed sprinkler systems. “A residential sprinkler system greatly reduces the chance of any fire fatalities.”

In this case, the fire started in a room on the lower level.

The fire was knocked down fairly quickly, Doherty said. Firefighters remained at the scene to take out any hot spots.

The cause has not been determined yet. A preliminary investigation was started Saturday and will be completed on Monday.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com