Firefighters say they're happy no one was injured after a fire sparked in a Surrey garage spread through the home in about a minute.
The blaze began shortly before 3 p.m. on Friday at a two-storey home on August Drive, in the area of the Fraser Highway and 88 Avenue.
It was sparked in the garage as a resident was cleaning tools with isopropanol alcohol, Surrey Fire Battalion Chief Steve Zecchel told CTV News.
The resident, a man, was able to get out quickly and move his dog and his truck to safety, witnesses said. Another vehicle was damaged by the flames, which spread upstairs almost immediately.
"Right away it was billowing smoke," said witness Mike Mendonca.
"It was already at the second storey, the siding was already burned off. It took about maybe 60 seconds."
Two neighbours rushed over and tried to put out the fire with small buckets of water, but weren't able to slow the spread.
Mendonca said firefighters arrived within minutes, but the fire was already fully involved.
"By the time they got here, half that house was burned down," he said.
And firefighters say it could have been much worse: The homeowners had three large butane tanks being stored in the garage.
Fortunately the home's other occupant was at work, and no one was injured in the blaze. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control before it spread to other buildings.
"The outcome was very good due to the severity of the fire and everything," Zecchel said.
"There was nobody injured, there was no other surrounding buildings involved so at this point here we're fairly happy. It was a quick knock-down by the crews."
