Surrey crews battling ‘stubborn’ apartment fire in Newton
Posted August 3, 2021 9:08 pm.
Last Updated August 3, 2021 10:54 pm.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Crews in Surrey are battling a large fire at an apartment building in the Newton area that broke out Tuesday evening.
Callers to NEWS 1130 began reporting thick smoke around 70th Avenue and 140 Street around 6 p.m., around the time dozens of firefighters were sent to the scene.
“We had an initial knockdown but it’s being stubborn,” explained Deputy Chief Mark Griffioen, who said the efforts to extinguish the flames would be ongoing for several hours.
“We have 12 units here, about 33 firefighters. We have crews inside the building, we’re also alternating with spraying water from the outside.”
No injuries have been reported so far, and Griffiioen said it was too soon to comment on the extent of the damage or how many units were affected.
An apartment or townhouse complex has caught fire in Surrey near 70ave and 140th street; A witness tells NEWS1130 emergency crews are on scene. We've reached out to Surrey Fire for more info @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/aKKTFldlTC
— Jonathan Szekeres (@jonszekeres) August 4, 2021
Eddy, who lives nearby described a large presence of emergency vehicles.
“It’s kind of chaotic around here. The fire seems to be spreading,” he said.
“They’re on their ladders, basically just shooting water from the top it’s quite impressive to see them try and put this out.”
TransLink detoured buses, but regular service has resumed.