ire crews quickly extinguished a three-alarm fire that broke out in a basement level utility room of Burnaby General Hospital late Sunday.
Crews were called to the hospital, located at 3935 Kincaid St., shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday and arrived to see heavy smoke pouring from several doors and windows.
Burnaby deputy fire chief Chris Bowcock told Global News that arriving firefighters were able to make an aggressive attack on the basement level once hospital staff had cleared the area of patients to allow firefighters a wide berth to fight the flames.
Bowcock said the fire was restricted to the basement level and did not spread further, though a fair amount of smoke spread to other areas of the building.
Shelter buses parked near the hospital accommodated an unknown number of evacuated patients while crews fought the blaze. Bowcock said fire crews will be assisting hospital staff to determine what affected patient areas of the hospital may be suitable for the patients to return, and when.
Hospital staff and the Burnaby Fire Department will also co-ordinate any possible relocation of patients, pending an assessment of the smoke-affected areas and their suitability for the patients’ return.
Bowcock said fire investigators will be probing the exact cause of the fire over the next 24 to 48 hours.