Nearly 100 people have been displaced following a four-alarm fire that broke out in South Vancouver Sunday.
Firefighters were called to the 3300-block of Marquette Crescent near Champlain Crescent when a passerby saw the fire around 1 p.m. It spread from a balcony of a three-storey townhouse complex and became trapped in the attic spaces, causing extensive damage, responders said.
Fifty firefighters worked to contain the blaze that took more than four hours to extinguish.
All of the residents escaped safely, including the pets, but 20 suites in the wood-framed complex were damaged by fire or water and four were completely destroyed, a strata member said.
Though many of the residents found lodging with friends or family, 33 were put up in hotels by Emergency Social Services.
Those who are unable to return to their homes are eligible for up to 72 hours of accommodation.
Residents are waiting for the opportunity to be let back into their homes to salvage their remaining belongings.
The owner of the suite where the blaze originated wasn’t home at the time of the fire.
The fire was deemed to be accidental, but investigators are still looking into the source.
