Firefighters from 4 cities called to battle Coquitlam apartment building fire

Roughly 100 people have been displaced after a fire broke out at an apartment building in Coquitlam in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“I got out of the building as soon as possible. I didn’t waste any time,’ said evacuee Tanya Carr.

Resident Daniel LaLonde described hearing “a pop, like a bang and then (fire) erupted out of the window and then it engulfed two storeys.”

Evacuee Muhammad Siddiqui said around 2:15 a.m. Thursday he awoke to the sound of the fire alarm. Initially, he didn’t see anything out of his window. But he said when he went to talk to his mom, he saw "red lights."

"I kind of panicked and looked outside and there it was, this big fire right in front of us,” he said.

Residents said there have been several false alarms in the older building, but it didn’t take long for them to realize the very real threat this time.

Zain Hashimi was one of those who tried to save neighbours by banging on more than a dozen doors.

“Felt like my lungs were collapsing because (there was) so much smoke, but I had to knock on every single door,” he said.

Dozens of firefighters from four different departments responded to the scene in the 500 block of Gatensbury Street, near Austin Avenue, shortly before 2 a.m., according to Chris Fox, assistant chief for Coquitlam Fire and Rescue.

"Crews arrived to find four fully involved suites in the back side, heavy fire going from the first to the second to the third floor and people on the balconies waiting to be rescued," Fox said.

"(Our) first priorities were rescuing the people off the balconies. Luckily, BC Ambulance was right on our tails this morning, so they took them in for evaluation right away."

BC Emergency Health Services told CTV News via email that it dispatched five ambulances and a supervisor to the scene, and transported three patients to hospital.

One of those patients, according to Fox, was a firefighter who fell through the building's second floor while battling the blaze.

The assistant chief said it was a "scary moment for everyone," but that the firefighter suffered only minor injuries. He was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital and has since been released, Fox said.

"We got pretty lucky, but that could've gone way worse," he said.

After that point, crews switched to a defensive approach to the blaze.

“As they hit it with the water the flames probably came out 30, 40 feet and then started to go up the back side of the building,” said Jeff Lund, who lives next door to the fire.

A total of 68 firefighters were called to the scene, with units from Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Burnaby all responding.

"We have roughly 100 people displaced and on the street, and we didn't want to lose the whole building, so I figured, 'You know what? Let's just drown this thing with staffing,'" Fox said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and Fox estimated it would be "days" before residents would be allowed to return.

In the meantime, Emergency Support Services has set up a reception centre at Coquitlam's Poirier Community Centre to help displaced residents meet their immediate needs for things like food, shelter and medication, Fox said.

Some residents told CTV News they don’t have insurance.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t know where I’m going to go,” said Hashimi. 

Roughly 100 people have been displaced after a fire broke out at an apartment building in Coquitlam in the early hours of Thursday morning. (CTV)