Port Coquitlam opens community centre for residents displaced by large apartment fire
Firefighters in Port Coquitlam extinguished a large fire in an apartment building on Wilson Avenue overnight.
Images from the scene show smoke, flames and significant damage to the three-storey building.
"I saw the flames going up on the wall, my wife she was sleeping, I woke her up and I'm like get out, lets get out,” said resident Luis Cruz.
After calling 911, Cruz said he rushed to warn his neighbours.
"The smoke was already coming in the hallways, down the first floor,” he said.
Port Coquitlam Fire Rescue says it was called to the scene at 2245 Wilson Ave. just after 10 p.m.
The size of the blaze also forced the evacuation of residents in a neighbouring building.
"Access to this one was a little bit challenging only because of the adjacent building," said Asst. Fire Chief Walt Warner. "Both buildings were quite tight together, but crews were able to get water onto the fire quite quickly."
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but crews do not believe it's suspicious.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West said in a Twitter thread Sunday morning that one person had been treated for a burn and one firefighter had been treated for smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze.
Fire crews remained on scene Sunday, continuing to put out hot spots.
An emergency shelter has been set up for displaced residents at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre, and engineers have been called in to assess if the neighbouring building is safe for residents to return.
It’s not yet known where residents of the building that caught fire will be placed over the coming days.
Wilson Avenue was closed between Donald Street and Mary Hill Road due to the fire, the city said, adding that community centre parking could be accessed from Mary Hill and Kingsway.
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.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
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.