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3 homes involved in Vancouver fire early Wednesday

Click to play video: 'Three homes damaged in Strathcona fire'
Three homes damaged in Strathcona fire
Several residents in Vancouver's Strathcona neighbourhood are displaced after an explosion and fire engulfed three homes early Wednesday morning. As Jennifer Palma reports, about 40 firefighters attended the scene and one family made a harrowing escape – Jan 25, 2023

Three homes were severely damaged in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood in a three-alarm fire early Wednesday.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue said firefighters responded to a fire around 4:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Keefer Street.

Click to play video: 'Three homes severely damaged by fire in Vancouver'
Three homes severely damaged by fire in Vancouver

Fire Chief Karen Fry said a home under renovation was fully involved and the fire quickly spread to two neighbouring homes.

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“The houses on either side had occupants at the time, but they managed to get out,” Fry said.

“These are older homes. They are close together and fires can spread really quickly from one home to another.”

Vancouver firefighters seen battling the blaze, early Wednesday morning. Global News

A resident from one of the neighbouring homes that caught fire told Global News of a scary escape.

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Theodora Lamb, her three kids, her dog and her partner made it out in the nick of time.

“The fire was on us as we were exiting through the side of the house,” she said.

“It hadn’t come through the walls, but you could feel the heat coming through.”

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Firefighters were also able to assist rescuing a cat from one of the homes.

A nearby resident said he was sleeping at the time of the ignition and sirens woke him and his son.

“I popped my head outside and saw the house two doors down ablaze. We got our shoes on and our downstairs neighbour was banging on doors, yelling ‘fire!’” Vincent Jones said.

“As we came down the front steps, there was an explosion.”

Click to play video: 'VFRS dealing with it’s highest call volume in years'
VFRS dealing with it’s highest call volume in years

Ten residents have been displaced and Fry said they will be displaced for “quite some time.”

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Video from the scene shows an extremely active fire with more than 40 firefighters battling the blaze.

“We could feel the heat from across the street,” Jones said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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