RCMP are investigating after a fire tore through the parking lot of a Burnaby apartment complex on Friday, forcing its residents to spend the night elsewhere.
Sixty fire fighters were called to the Telkwa apartment building on Imperial Street and Gray Avenue, near Metrotown, around 7 p.m. The fire was behind the building.
“It was just this big wall of fire,” said Charlie Wilson, who pulled the fire alarm. “I stick my head out of my patio door and it was very warm. I just knew to get out.”
Crews managed to put out the blaze, which police say began in a pile of couches and mattresses. However, it destroyed the building’s wooden parking garage as well as eight cars.
“The fire was very large, very impressive,” said Asst. Fire Chief Mark Fletcher. “The crews did a great job in knocking it down. They protected the buildings that were all around the fire.”
Ross Menagh’s car was one of the eight that was torched to rubble. Adib Jabber managed to save his.
“I was worried about my car,” he said. “The fire was not that big. When I got it out, the far side of the roof came down, and I thought, ‘Oh, I got lucky.’”
The fire was out by 9:45 p.m. Friday, but a major power line was also burned, leaving 1,500 homes and businesses in the dark for several hours.
No one was hurt, and the cause of the fire is being investigated. RCMP say the blaze could have been an electrical fire, but they have not ruled out arson.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Nafeesa Karim and Jon Woodward
