Vancouver crews knock down garage fire near Jericho Beach

An early morning fire at a detached garage in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood was quickly knocked down by firefighters on Monday.

Crews responded around 7 a.m. to the fire at West Fifth Avenue and Sasamat Street, just blocks away from Jericho Beach.

Officials said the “sizeable” blaze was contained to the garage, which suffered “catastrophic” damage. The adjacent home suffered only minor damage from the nearby heat.

The residents of the home were able to get a vehicle out of the garage before it could be damaged, firefighters said, adding that no one was injured.

At the height of the fire, thick black smoke could be seen from across the city, including across the water in the West End.

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Photos from that area show a plume of smoke rising high above the neighbourhood.

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Barbara Alivojvodic, who lives next door to the home, said she was woken up by her husband, who saw smoke coming from the garage.

“I looked out the window and saw the garage was completely covered in flames and black smoke,” she said. “Of course, we panicked and flew down the stairs. Really intense heat coming off. Just a big, big fire.”

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A garden between the home in question and Alivojvodic’s was also destroyed, she added.

Alivojvodic and another neighbour who called 911, Ken McRae, said firefighters took less than two minutes to respond.

“They were really quick,” Alivojvodic said. “It was a really close call.”

McRae, who also got video of the massive fire, said the heat from the fire could be felt across the street at his own home.

“My wife was looking at the clouds, and all of a sudden, there was a big black one that popped up,” he said. “Then it burst into real hot flames. We could feel the heat through our window upstairs.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, with crews looking at what may have been inside the garage that caused such an intense burn.