Firefighters talk to a woman on the sidewalk outside an apartment where fire destroyed two suites Friday. 50 firefighters were called to the fire which began around 5:30 a.m.
Fire destroys two downtown apartment suites
By Monisha Martins - Maple Ridge News
Published: June 27, 2008 12:00 PM
Updated: June 27, 2008 1:54 PM
Firefighters broke down 17 doors to make sure residents were safe during a fire early Friday at an apartment in downtown Maple Ridge that destroyed two suites.
The blaze started in a first floor suite of the three-storey building on 222nd Street near 119th Avenue around 5 a.m. and spread quickly to a suite next door.
The Maple Ridge Fire Department had 50 firefighters and 10 firefighting apparatus on scene.
Assistant fire chief Howard Exner said the fire started in the bedroom of the suite and triggered a heat sensor, which set off the building’s fire alarm.
Flames were shooting out of the suite’s window, threatening to spread to the second floor when crews arrived.
Exner said not all residents heeded the fire alarm.
One crew of firefighters put out the blaze while five crews went door-to-door to make sure residents evacuated the building.
Up to 17 doors had to be kicked in as firefighters checked suites.
It took 20 minutes to get the fire under control, but the apartment building remained off limits to residents for much of Friday morning.
“It slows down what we do,” Exner said of the door-to-door evacuation.
“We had to make sure everyone was accounted for.”
Exner said one reason why residents did not pay attention to the ringing bells is because apartments tend to have a lot of false alarms.
“It’s the story of crying wolf too often. But when alarms go off [even if they are false], people need to practice getting out on to the street.”
Adam Hotz, who lives in a suite on the third floor, heard the alarm, poked his head out of a window and saw flames.
He woke up his roommate, Michael Bowman, and headed outside.
“As I was running down the stairs, I banged on doors just to make sure everyone was up,” Hotz said.
The men said the fire started after a woman in the first floor suite plugged in an electrical appliance. The plug sparked, set her bed alight and spread quickly.
All the residents were taken for breakfast by Maple Ridge emergency social services.
Residents of the two damaged suites will be housed in hotels.
The fire department said other residents will be allowed back into the building once a security guard, hired by a restoration company, arrives.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.
mmartins@mapleridgenews.com
