One person is dead, one person has been hospitalized, and a handful of others are homeless after a devastating house fire in Burnaby.
It took nine trucks and more than 30 firefighters to knock down the blaze, which began around 10:25 p.m. on Tuesday, in the 4400th block of Victory Street.
“On arrival, sure enough, there was six or so people out and a couple of people unaccounted for,” said Burnaby Fire Chief Darcy Robinson.
“Our crews went in back in the building and were able to pull out two people around, proceed with first aid and CPR.”
Both residents had a pulse at the time they were taken to the Vancouver General Hospital, added Robinson, and received treatment along the way from B.C. Emergency Health Services.
The B.C. Coroners Service later confirmed that one of individuals died.
While the investigation is still underway, Robinson said the fire is believed to have started in the basement of the single-family dwelling.
By the time crews arrived at the scene, flames and smoke were already pouring out of the windows. The fire triggered two alarms on Tuesday night.
READ MORE: Crews battle 2-alarm fire in Burnaby, 3-alarm blaze in Surrey overnight
Fire crews are now working with Burnaby RCMP to determine what caused the blaze, and say it’s too early to determine whether the fire is suspicious.
“We will take all our equipment and go in and make sure there is no extension any further, get everybody rehabbed and ready to go again,” said Robinson.
“We will kind of do the process again and make sure there is nobody there … get some type of equipment in there to lift the floor, and make it safe for anyone to go in there and check for anybody else.”
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