'We have nowhere to live': Dozens displaced after Burnaby apartment building fire
Three people were rescued and dozens more have been displaced after a third-alarm blaze at a Burnaby apartment complex in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the fire department.
Crews were called to a three-story building on Albert Street in the Burnaby Heights neighbourhood around 2:45 a.m. A spokesperson told CTV News that the fire was contained to one suite on the third floor, but that roughly 20 other units sustained smoke and water damage.
Firefighters rescued three residents who were then taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The cause is under investigation and an exact timeline for when people can return has not been set.
Billy-Joe Thorne lives on the second floor of the building and described the chaotic scene to CTV News.
"The guy above me had to climb down off the balcony -- from his balcony to my balcony to the bottom. I also had to get an elderly man out of an apartment," she said.
"Everybody got out because I was banging on the doors. No fire alarm went off on the third floor. On the second floor, it didn't go off for 10 minutes after the fire was already going. I got out of my apartment. I jumped up, I got out of the apartment and I banged on every door on the second floor to get these people out … It's very lucky that all of us are alive."
This CTV News photo shows an apartment in a Burnaby building destroyed by fire ao Aug.14, 2022.
Thorpe also alleges the building is not equipped with smoke detectors in the suites of fire extinguishers in the hallways.
She says she has no idea where she and her neighbours are going to go once their three nights at a nearby hotel are up. Thorpe also told CTV News that displaced residents have been given roughly $2,000 each by the landlord but that money won’t last long, and won't make up for the losses suffered by uninsured tenants.
"We have nowhere to live," she said. "They don't care about us. We are out on our butts … It's sad. It's sad for everybody."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.