'Shooting flames, lots of smoke': Burnaby house engulfed in fire

Smoke billowed from a house in Burnaby as it was engulfed in flames Monday evening.

When crews arrived shortly after 5:15 p.m., the fire was coming from the back of the two-storey home, Asst. Fire Chief Darcy Robinson told CTV News.

“I saw shooting flames, lots of smoke,” one witness told CTV News at the scene, adding that the whole block came out of their homes to watch.

Five apparatus and 32 firefighters from the Burnaby Fire Department were sent to the scene in the 7200 block of 1st Street.

Thankfully, the two people who live in the house—a father and son—got out safely and there were no reported injuries, Darcy said.

Local resident Johnny Birk told CTV News he saw the black smoke from his house a block away, and he ran towards the fire.

Birk and a neighbour grabbed garden hoses and sprayed at the flames from behind a fence.

“My family is pretty pissed I did that,” he said.

“I’m a Sikh Punjabi, we were brought up to help others in the community if we have the opportunity” Birk explained. “You’re not always gonna run away from danger like that, someone might need help.”

The assistant chief said the house’s top floor suffered significant fire and smoke damage, so the family will be displaced for “quite some time.”

He added the cause of the blaze is under investigation.