Port Moody townhome fire called ‘suspicious’ by police and fire officials

Three people and multiple pets were rescued from an early morning fire in Port Moody on Monday.

The damage is extensive. The radiant heat that was coming off of the burning townhomes melted the siding on adjacent units.

Three people and multiple pets were rescued from an early morning fire in Port Moody on Monday. (Kier Junos, CityNews Image)

Jenny Kirby lives in the unit right beside the buildings and says they awoke to the sound of screaming.

“I just heard a man’s voice saying ‘Get the eff out Sarah! Get the eff out! So I thought it was a domestic thing. And then I just kept hearing screaming for her to get the eff out. And then I heard the smoke alarms and I was like, oh my God, I think it might be a fire.”

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• 3 people rescued after Port Moody townhome fire

Sarge Maslov and his family were among those who had to leave their home because of the fire, and he says he could see the flames growing quickly from his porch.

“Even though the firefighters were already there — they were pouring water, but it was still growing for the first few minutes and everyone was really scared that it would just spread over to the next building,” he said.

Port Moody Fire Rescue says firefighters were called to a structure fire around 4:40 a.m.

Three people and multiple pets were rescued from an early morning fire in Port Moody on Monday. (Kier Junos, CityNews Image)

Coquitlam fire crews and an off-duty Surrey firefighter helped with the flames, and they managed to rescue three people from a balcony on the back of this building.

By the afternoon, crews were hosing down hotspots.

“I went to the hospital, I saw the people that were saved off the balconies,” said Port Moody Fire Rescue Chief Darcey O’Riordan.

“Everybody seemed to be doing well at this point — which is a good thing.”

Police and fire officials still don’t know the cause of the fire and they’re calling it suspicious.

“The initial information on scene suggests that this fire was suspicious in nature. And as a result, our major crime detectives have been deployed and are looking into the matter further,” said Port Moody Police Department Media Relations Officer Const. Sam Zacharias.

Damon Marchand lives nearby and tells CityNews that people in the neighbourhood aren’t sure what happened either.

“All we know is that it started in one of the units’ garage. That’s the only thing that we were told.”