A Saanich man vacuuming out his filthy wood stove unknowingly prompted fire crews from three municipalities to race to his rescue Tuesday morning.
"When we pulled up it looked like there was a bunch of smoke, but it was actually just his vacuum (which) was blowing the ash from his wood stove all over the place," said Bob Jones, Victoria platoon captain and acting battalion chief.
"I don't think he knew it was getting that bad."
Victoria firefighters were the first to arrive on scene after a 911 call came in at 10:36 a.m. from a worried neighbour who spotted smoke in the 2700-block of Richmond St.
The pump crew labeled it a false alarm and quickly relayed the message to fire crews from Saanich and Oak Bay, which were enroute since the Saanich address closely borders Oak Bay and Victoria.
"I think he was a little shocked," Jones said chuckling, adding that it was still better that the neighbour erred on the side of caution and called the fire department.