Firefighters revive ‘basically lifeless’ person rescued from Burnaby apartment fire
Posted December 31, 2020 11:11 am.
Last Updated December 31, 2020 11:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS 1130) — Two people were rescued from a burning apartment building after a unit when up in flames early Thursday morning.
The fire broke out in the three-storey building around 1 a.m. near Pender Street and Ingleton Avenue in Burnaby.
Assistant Fire Chief Dave Younger says firefighters rescued the first person who was in the hallway before finding another who was overcome by smoke inside a unit.
“They were basically lifeless, so they did CPR on that person and got them back, and then that same crew went in and put out the fire,” he says.
A video posted to Reddit by user sapere-aude088 shows the intensity of the flames shooting from the windows and firefighters rushing to revive the person.
It was a rookie firefighter who carried the person out of the building, Younger adds.
“He hasn’t finished his first year yet. I think he’s close, but not done his year,” he says. “[He] was on the initial team and had saved two people.”
At least 50 people had to be evacuated from the building by Younger’s estimation.
“A lot of people required more assistance to get out,” he says, adding several people with physical and mental disabilities were helped out of the building. “It required a lot of resources. They put people in buses and evacuated the entire unit.”
At least five people were hurt and four of them were taken to hospital, including one person who jumped off a low balcony to escape the flames.
Younger explains the flames were contained to one unit, however, nearby suites were damaged. Some residents have been able to return to units that weren’t damaged by the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
