Officials in Port Coquitlam are probing two overnight house fires that are both believed to be suspicious.

The first blaze broke out at a home on Larkin Street late Monday night and was quickly upgraded to a two-alarm.

Neighbours phoned 911 and the home was fully engulfed by the time crews arrived.

People living in the area told CTV Morning Live it’s a problem house and police have been there before on more than one occasion.

There were several people in the home when the fire broke out but all managed to escape safely.

One man banged on his neighbour’s door to alert them to the fire.

“We looked out and saw the power lines go ‘crack crack boom’. I ran out of the house, I didn’t have any shoes on and I was knocking on my neighbour’s door like a madman,” said Gordon Sonier.

The second fire happened several hours later at an abandoned home on Kelly Avenue, which is around a seven-minute drive away.

The home is boarded up, but fire crews say they’ve been there before.

On Tuesday morning, investigators were seen bagging and removing three jerry cans from the scene of the first house fire.

With files from CTV Morning Live’s Nafeesa Karim