Nearly 100 people have been forced out of their homes, following a major fire at an condo building in Surrey.
It’s believed the fire started around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Surrey Fire Service said it received multiple calls from witnesses who said flames were spreading quickly.
“Upon arrival, they immediately went to second alarm,” said Assistant Chief Brian Woznikoski.
“The fire was lapping up the exterior of the building and got into the roof way and then immediately went to third alarm and progressed into a four alarm fire.”
Firefighters said it was a difficult fire to fight. At the height of it, there were 40 firefighters on scene.
It’s still not clear how many of the building’s 77 units were damaged, but the roof of the structure was significantly burnt.
“It’s going to take some time for the property manager to assess, get the insurance company out and determine the amount of damage,” Woznikoski said.
He said the major damage seems to have occurred to the roof of the building, as some parts collapsed.
People were transported through emergency social services to the reception centre at the Newton Senior Centre.
By Sunday morning, crews re-entered the building armed with thermal imaging cameras, checking for any hot spots.
After primary and secondary search, firefighters said they found no bodies. No one was injured.
Surrey Fire Service have been able to determine the fire began on a balcony on the second floor of the building.
Although they say the fire was not sparked by a BBQ, they still haven’t been able to confirm what caused the fire.
The fire has not been deemed suspicious.
Omar Idrees, owns one of the units in the building. He said his tenant called him letting him know there was a fire.
“I was shocked, completely shocked. It’s unbelievable. When I showed up to the scene there were about 300,or 400 people there and some people were stressed out crying,” Idrees said.
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