VANCOUVER -- A fire in Pitt Meadows sent two people to hospital for treatment of burns Sunday.

Crews were called to the 14300 block of Harris Road north of Old Dewdney Trunk Road around 11:45 a.m. for what was initially described as a fire alarm activation, said David Biggin, deputy chief for Pitt Meadows Fire and Rescue Service.

The call was quickly upgraded to a structure fire, and Biggin said the second floor of the single-family home was engulfed in flames when he arrived at the scene.

More than 20 firefighters responded to the call, attacking the blaze first from the outside and then from the inside of the building.

"Crews did a great job," Biggin said.

There were three people present at the home when the fire began, he said, adding that all of them were out of the home by the time crews arrived.

"There were two occupants that suffered what I would consider minor burns to the face and the hands," Biggin said. "I guess they were trying to attempt to put the fire out themselves."

He said crews believe the fire started with a candle, though they weren't sure in which room.

While firefighters were able to knock down the fire fairly quickly, the damage to the home's second floor was significant, rendering it uninhabitable, Biggin said.