Suspected drunk driver crashes into house in East Vancouver, causes fire

Police and firefighters converged on a home in East Vancouver early Saturday morning after a driver who had earlier evaded police on the North Shore crashed and caused a gas leak.

The North Vancouver RCMP detachment told CTV News its officers were conducting a roadblock on the Main Street on-ramp to Highway 1 eastbound around midnight when a vehicle "blew through."

"As officers were attempting to reacquire the vehicle, they noted the vehicle had crashed into a house," said spokesperson Const. Mansoor Sahak in an email.

"The driver fled but was later located with the assistance of (Vancouver police). The driver was arrested. Alcohol is suspected."

Vancouver firefighters told CTV News they were called to the home in the 2700 block of McGill Street around 1:30 a.m.

Assistant Fire Chief Randy Boruck said four people were inside the home when the collision occurred, but they were able to get out safely.

Crews arrived to find the vehicle had struck a gas meter on the corner of the house, which broke, allowing gas to flow freely.

The gas ignited, causing a "blow-torch event," with blue flames shooting out of the pipe, Boruck said.

Firefighters were unable to do an interior attack on the fire until the gas was shut off, the assistant chief said, adding that crews had received a report of pets unaccounted for after the blaze.

He did not specify how many animals, or what kind, were missing.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Lauren Pullen