Fire destroys Langley home outfitted with specialized medical equipment

Vancouver -

A fast-moving fire destroyed one home and severely damaged another in Langley’s historic Murrayville neighbourhood, Friday afternoon.

A mother and her four children were inside the house when the fire broke out.

“This is beyond devastating,” said Andrea Van Enter.

Van Enter told CTV News Vancouver she did not know her house was on fire until her neighbour banged on the door.

She rushed to get her kids out, including her 17-year-old daughter who has cerebral palsy. All of her specialized medical equipment has been destroyed.

“My oldest daughter has a lot of things she needs just to get around. A wheelchair, walkers, we have a chair lift in our house, adapted bathroom. Everything is just burnt,” said Van Enter.

While she is unsure of what her next steps are, Van Enter said she is counting her blessings everyone is alive, including her mother-in-law.

“I think the most traumatic part was thinking my mother in-law had died. Because she’s living in the basement suite so I didn’t know she had gone out for an errand,” added Van Enter.

Firefighters were called out just before 5 p.m. A total of six fire trucks were on scene, with emergency responders blocking the 21700-block of 50th Avenue.

Assistant Fire Chief with the Township of Langley’s Fire Department, Andy Hewitson said one fire fighter was injured while battling the flames and was taken to hospital. He remains in stable condition.

The fire appears to have started between the two homes.

“The heat added to the complexity of the incident. But crews got on scene very quickly and did a really good job of keeping it to the two houses of origin,” said Hewitson.

“With the added heat, everything is going to dry out, the lack of moisture is going to create more of a fire hazard,” added Hewitson.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A GoFundMe campaign, set up under the family’s name, has reached more than twice of its $10,000 fundraising goal since it was set up on Friday.