Fire breaks out at North Vancouver highrise

Flames shot out of windows and debris came showering down onto the street as crews battled a fire at a North Vancouver highrise Monday afternoon.

The fire broke out on one of the upper levels of a building near the intersection of Marine Drive and Capilano Road. Images from the scene showed black smoke billowing out of the windows of one unit, where the balcony was almost fully engulfed.

District of North Vancouver Deputy Fire Chief Chris Byrom said crews were called to the scene at around 1:30 p.m.

"They were on scene really, really quick. They elected to be a really quick attack and get to the fire floor as fast as they could and mitigate any damage. And they did a good job of that," he said, adding that crews from all three North Shore fire departments were ultimately involve in the response and worked together "seamlessly."

Two residents suffered minor injuries, one burns and another smoke inhalation, Byrom said. Residents in suites adjacent to the one where the fire started were swiftly evacuated, as were other people living in the building who needed assistance navigating the stairwells in order to get out safely from the upper floors.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and crews remained on scene Monday evening where they were determining how many people could return and how many would be displaced.

According to information available online, the building has 471 units.