Big fire in East Vancouver guts home
Posted May 11, 2017 6:28 am.
Last Updated May 11, 2017 6:29 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Two people have been sent to the hospital this morning after a fire broke out inside their home in East Vancouver. The call came in just before midnight from the corner of 16th Avenue and Windermere Street.
By the time crews got there the two-alarm blaze had fully engulfed the first storey of the two-storey home and the damage looked extensive.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Acting Battalion Chief Mike Huntley explains what their biggest challenge was. “It was hard to get at because it did get into the walls upstairs, so we were chasing it for a little bit. But the crews did a really good job of keeping it contained to just the one house.”
More than two dozen firefighters handled the call and it took them nearly three hours to extinguish the blaze. Luckily, no neighbouring homes were affected. “There was a tree that caught on fire that a lot of people were able to see. It was about a 40 foot tree and that was on fire too for a little bit, so it was very visible.”
Huntley adds he’s surprised it took people so long to call 911, but explains that happens sometimes on a quiet residential street.
WATCH: Fire at 16th/Windermere in East Van sends 2 people to hospital. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/L9QTuwjyZq
— James Cybulski (@cballnews) May 11, 2017
Two people inside the home at the time were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
