Community comes together in aftermath of Newton condo fire

NEWTON (NEWS 1130) —  After a massive condo fire in Surrey left many residents homeless – the community is coming together to help more than 80 people get back on their feet.

The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon on 70A Avenue and 140 Street in Newton. Firefighters worked throughout the night and into Wednesday. They were challenged by access issues, as well as the type of roof, which made the fire very difficult to knock down.

Crews in Surrey are battling a large fire at an apartment building in the Newton area that broke out Tuesday evening. https://t.co/YkKmGoz5p7 pic.twitter.com/HeeKjudeih

— CityNews Vancouver (@CityNewsVAN) August 4, 2021

Crews were eventually able to get a handle on the fire, but not before more than a dozen units were destroyed.

Residents lost all of their possessions including clothing and furniture, and some people did not have insurance.

The Surrey Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 1271 called the loss devastating and is offering to help. The association says that it’s important to help residents during this challenging time.

“It’s a program that we’ve been involved in for many years now. We help victims of situations like this — fire, flood, what have you. We try and give them a little bit of support because they’ve been immediately impacted, so they might need a little bit of assistance with regards to money for essentials, maybe a hotel stay, things to help them with health care,” explained association President Saverio Lattanzio.

Donations up to $5,000 will be matched by the Surrey Fire Fighters Charitable Society until Aug. 10. 

“People are losing everything in a moment’s notice,” said Lattanzio, adding quick action is needed to help those affected. “We looked at what happened in Lytton there and the entire community was displaced. Here we have approximately 80 to 100 people displaced overnight and now their lives have been upended and they need to find other means for shelter, food, accommodations, and just trying to get back on their feet.”

He says it can take a while for things like insurance or other resources to be made available to help people get their lives back together. That’s why the association wants to help in the meantime.

The Surrey Fire Fighters Association is working with emergency support services to identify the families most in need of immediate assistance.

Anyone who wants to donate can do so on the association’s website.

The Sikh Temples has also jumped in to help people get back on their feet – they held a donation drive to gather clothes and items for the residents on Wednesday.

They also collected food and toiletries, as so many people were left without the essentials.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No injuries were reported.

With files from Dean Recksiedler and Hana Mae Nassar.