A raging fire that destroyed an abandoned home in Burnaby Monday night appears to be suspicious, according to firefighters.

Asst. Chief Barry Mawhinney said crews arrived at the Byrne Road property shortly after 9 p.m. to find the house engulfed in flames.

"Fire was coming out all the windows and doors," Mawhinney said. "The roof collapsed within five minutes of us being at the scene."

Firefighters managed to douse the fire safely and there are no apparent injuries, but Mawhinney said they won't know for certain until crews are able to get inside the property.

"There is a possibility there could be people that use it for shelter," he said. "We'll have to at some point try and get a look through the rubble and make sure there's nobody in there."

The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but given the time it broke out and the location of the home, which is in an industrial part of the city, authorities are treating it as suspicious.

About an hour after that fire broke out, crews were dispatched to a fire that erupted in East Vancouver.

Witnesses said they heard a number of small explosions, which were caused by propane tanks at the property.

"I heard an explosion while I was sitting on the couch watching TV with my wife," George Charest said. "Looked over here and there were flames shooting out of the building."

Fortunately, no one was hurt in that fire, though a dog at the site has gone missing.  

Correction: A previous version of this story stated the East Vancouver fire broke out at Capital Salvage. Firefighters confirm the fire broke out next door at another salvage yard owned by a numbered company.