South Vancouver vacant house fire sends thick smoke into air

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services was on the scene of a large blaze in South Vancouver Thursday morning. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!

The fire, near the south side of South West Marine Drive at 57th Avenue, was sending thick black plumes of smoke into the air after breaking out just before 7 a.m.

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Fire Chief Karen Fry tells 1130 NewsRadio the fire is at a “very large” vacant house.

“When Engine 21, our first unit on the scene, rolled in, they quickly started trying to knock it down and they did a great job of protecting the house next door, to limit any kind of damage to that home,” she said.

“This is a vacant home, it is fenced off and it was boarded up. We don’t know if anybody was inside at the moment. We’ll have an opportunity to get in there and look better in a little bit,” she explained.

“The neighbours are indicating that they have seen people around, but no indication if they were in there this morning or not. [Squatters] are always a problem. We have a housing crisis in our community, and we have a lot of homes that are vacant and waiting renovation or demolition, and that’s always a problem.”

The house is upwards of 5,000 or 6,000 square feet, Fry estimates, and by the time crews are done knocking down the fire on Thursday, the home will be “completely gutted.”

“It’s in a state of disrepair. There’s graffiti on the outside of it as well,” Fry shared.

Fry says that as the temperatures start to dip, the risk of fire increases.

“Our crews have been extremely busy lately, especially on this end of town. We’re having multiple fires and multiple fires that extend beyond the house of origin. Our crews did a fantastic job here today, protecting the beautiful home [next door].

“We do sometimes get a lot more house fires start as we start getting into colder weathers. People are trying to stay warm. If they are abandoned, electrical issues are always a problem, you start cooking a lot more inside this time of year, as well.”

While fire crews are working to knock down the fire, traffic is being detoured away from the incident. Marine Drive is blocked between 57th Avenue and MacDonald Street.

Witnesses share that the smoke can be seen from Richmond, Burnaby, and other parts of Metro Vancouver.

The Vancouver Police Department is telling drivers in the area to expect “significant delays.”

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–With files from Sonia Aslam.