Materials left too close to a bedroom space heater is the suspected cause of a fire in a 91原创 four-plex Thursday evening that has left one woman dead and three people with nowhere to live this Christmas.
The fire broke out in a rear bedroom of an elderly woman鈥檚 home in the 23800 block of Old Yale Road. She died in the fire.
A man in the neighbouring unit was airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital where he was listed in serious condition, said the Township fire department.
On Monday, 91原创 RCMP believed he could be released from hospital on Tuesday. It鈥檚 unknown if he was burned in the fire. It also isn鈥檛 known whether he has somewhere to live after being released from hospital.
None of the three people who were displaced from the fire have any kind of insurance and were renting, confirmed 91原创 Township assistant fire chief Pat Walker.
鈥淔rom what we can see, it looks like the whole thing will have to be rebuilt.
鈥淭hese people can鈥檛 return home,鈥� said Walker. It鈥檚 an awful situation, he said. The Provincial Disaster Assistance provided one night鈥檚 stay in a hotel, but Walker doesn鈥檛 know where they are now and if they have places to stay.
The fire started sometime before 6:30 p.m. By the time Township fire crews arrived at 6:37 p.m., a portion of the building was fully engulfed in flames.
鈥淭he flames were shooting 20 feet into the sky by the time we arrived,鈥� said Walker.
The four units in the older complex are separated by concrete block walls, but once the flames broke through the ceiling of the first unit, the fire travelled horizontally, causing smoke and fire damage to the rest of the building, explained Walker.
Once the fire was inside the attic, it became very difficult to fight, he said. By the time crews wrapped up, it was well after 11 p.m.
Walker said there were 17 different crews fighting the fire, and that the all did an excellent job. That area of Old Yale Road has no fire hydrants so they had to bring water in by tanker.
One of the residents was treated for smoke inhalation and released.
One resident had just moved into one of the unit鈥檚 last week. He lost everything and had no insurance.
Walker said fire investigators were on scene all weekend and now they believe the power bar the heater was plugged into may have played a role.
鈥淭here were a number of power bars being used for everything including appliances,鈥� he said.
鈥淯nit heaters should be plugged directly into an outlet not into a power bar and according to the instructions, there must be at least three feet between combustibles and portable heating units.鈥�
鈥� with files from Brenda Anderson
