Two recent fires in Delta have destroyed a pair of homes leading to people looking for new places to live just as the weather gets cold and Christmas gets close.
At 5:18 a.m. Friday, firefighters rushed to a townhouse on fire in the 5500-block of 48B Avenue in Ladner.
Six fire trucks and 24 firefighters responded to the home that was fully involved when they arrived, with people possibly trapped.
However, firefighters found no one was inside and focused on keeping the fire from spreading and knocked it down quickly.
“We contained it to the one unit,” with another unit taking some of smoke and water damage, said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Wood. “The other two people were able to stay in their house because of our quick response. So, yeah, that was a good save.”
However, the townhouse unit was no longer livable for the family that was residing there. No definite cause has been identified yet but the probable cause is electrical.
“Because it was attached to other units, they did a great job of keeping the fire contained to the unit of origin,” Wood said.
Another fire broke out at a duplex Saturday morning at 10:24 a.m., in North Delta, on 116th Street, near 88th Avenue, also rendering that home uninhabitable.
“There was smoke damage throughout,” Wood said.
The same number of firefighters and trucks responded, Wood said, adding that everyone escaped and that emergency social services is helping find alternative accommodation. It’s likely also electrical in origin.
“When they arrived on scene, they could see smoke was coming from the units. All the family members were accounted for outside the building,” Wood said.
No firefighters were injured during the incidents.
Specific causes for either blaze have not been identified.
However, Wood added, speaking generally, that at this time of year, space heaters should be plugged directly into the wall and not be plugged into power bars.
