3-alarm fire tears through pair of South Vancouver homes

A three-alarm fire tore through a pair of South Vancouver homes Wednesday afternoon.

The Vancouver Fire department was called to Columbia Street near 62nd Avenue at around 4:30 p.m.

"Crews came across a fully involved structure at the back of the building, which in turn caught the second house,” Asst. Chief Walter Pereira told CTV News.

Pereira said all occupants of both homes made it out safely, but both properties were significantly damaged.

The department said it’s not yet known what caused the fire, but neighbours had their suspicions.

“They heard three really big bangs in the back of the house where the fire started,” said Polly Bath, whose parents own and live in the second home that caught fire.

Bath says the house next door has long been a problem, alleging there were people illegally living in the car port of the multi-unit property.

"That's where they heard the bangs," Bath said. "That's where (my nephews) saw the flames coming from at first … from the car port where all those people were."

Bath and several other nearby residents told CTV News they’ve repeatedly called the police to complain about some of the tenants in the home, but nothing has been done about it.

"It was just a really uncomfortable situation for a really long time for our family,” Bath said.

Tenants who live in another unit at the property told CTV News they have filed complaints as well.

Witnesses said that they saw the occupants of that home being questioned by Vancouver police at the scene. The department has not yet responded to a request for comment.