Dozens displaced by ‘tricky’ Coquitlam apartment fire

Dozens of people have been forced from their homes after a large fire at an apartment building in Coquitlam early Thursday morning.

Fire crews say they were called to a building along Gatensbury Street near Howie Avenue just before 2 a.m.

Assistant Fire Chief Chris Fox explains firefighters arrived to find “four fully involved suites in the back side.”

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“Heavy fire going from the first, to the second, to the third floor, and people on the balconies waiting to be rescued,” he said, adding BC EHS crews were close by and were able to transport those people to the hospital for evaluation.

Once the rescues were complete, Fox says crews focused their attention on putting the fire out.

“We had roughly 100 people displaced and on the street, and we didn’t want to lose the whole building so I figured … let’s just drown this thing with staffing,” he said.

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Crews were able to put the flames out, however, one of their own was hurt in the process.

Fox says a firefighter went through a floor that had collapsed, suffering minor injuries.

“They took him to (Royal Columbian Hospital) for evaluation. He’s been released with a twisted ankle in the end. Scary moment for everyone,” he said.

“One side of the floor let go and he kind of almost surfed it down. A piece of drywall came on top and he had his foot pinched, had to be yanked out. His crew was on him right away and we removed him. Again, B.C. ambulances were already here — they were awesome last night and sent us a bunch of units.”

Fox says his teams reached out to partners in the region, with 68 firefighters being called to the scene from Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Burnaby.

Damage being assessed

It’s unclear at this point how many people will be able to return to their units, though some have been allowed back in.

Fox says engineers and other experts have been called in to determine whether the building is safe. The cause of the fire is also under investigation.

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He explains the call was a challenge, given the structure of the building.

“It was tricky, it’s an older building. The main floor is actually floor three and there’s two more floors and a basement below it. The units don’t even stack up properly on top of each other,” he explained.

“The fire had fully grabbed on to the suites.”

Fox says transit buses were called in to help keep people warm in the early morning hours. The residents are being supported by Emergency Support Services to sort out shelter, food, other necessities, and finding missing pets.

‘It was right in front of us, the fire’

Gordon, who has lived in the building for eight years, says he learned about the fire around 1:45 a.m.

“Fire alarm went off but I didn’t hear it. I woke up to the firemen by my balcony,” he told CityNews, adding he was able to grab some clothes but nothing else.

Ahmad, who lives on the first floor, says he was just falling asleep when he smelled smoke.

“It was right in front of us, the fire,” he recalled.

“I didn’t hear anything, we just came out right after.”

Ahmad explains he has two cats that are unaccounted for at this time. He’s not sure if his home or pets are okay, and adds he wasn’t able to take anything before running.

“My brother is here so we’re going to be okay,” he added.

-With files from Sonia Aslam