‘Lost everything’: 11 displaced as 4 homes burned in Langley ire

Eleven people have been displaced after a massive fire razed four homes in the Township of Langley on Sunday night.

All of the residents escaped unharmed, including a dog and a hamster, but one firefighter sustained a knee injury and was carried away from the blaze at 96 Avenue and 203 Street in Walnut Grove.

“I think it was a good hour before I finally broke down and it all sunk in that I’ve lost everything that we’ve worked for. I’m just looking at the charred remains of our home,” said Karen Moraes, who watched the flames consume her home from a safe distance on Sunday.

“We gotta start from scratch. We just got caught up on everything. We were doing great.”

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The cause of the fire remains unknown, according to Township of Langley Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Snowden.

It began in the backyard of one townhome, which had multiple units, and spread to neighbouring properties. About 40 firefighters responded, in addition to a personal disaster team, he told Global News.

Impacted residents have been relocated. The scene remained roped off to the public on Monday afternoon.

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Moraes said the blaze began at the hot tub in her family’s backyard.

“My 16-year-old daughter saw the flames from her window upstairs and woke everyone up,” she said.

“I went out back with fire extinguishers hoping to at least get it under control, but the neighbours in the back told me to get out of the house because our two barbecues were right there.”

Another victim, Eric Fauth, told Global News his family got out “within a couple minutes of it lighting our place up.”

“I saw a light out the window, thought the sun was doing something funny through the trees,” he said Monday. “I yelled, told my dad and my daughter to get out of the house.”

Fauth said he got his animals out too, then began knocking on neighbours’ doors to alert them. His efforts to douse the flames at his own home failed, he added.