It was a busy evening for North Vancouver’s two fire departments on Thursday with three blazes to douse in two hours.
A Lynn Valley couple have been burned out of their home on the 3000 block of Chaucer Avenue after a fire dealt heavy damage from the basement right up to the attic.
District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services members received the 911 dispatch just after 8 p.m.
“Upon arrival, the first crew reported heavy flames and smoke showing from the rear of the home,” said assistant fire chief Jason de Roy.
“The crews did a great job getting on top of the fire and were able to extinguish the fire.”
The residents, a husband and wife in their 50s, made it outside without injury.
Their cat, however, died in the fire, de Roy said.
It’s too soon to say whether the structure is salvageable but the damage is bad enough that the owners won’t be able to return home anytime soon, de Roy said.
They have been offered assistance from B.C. emergency social services.
The investigation into the cause is still in its infancy, although it appears to have started in the basement, de Roy said.
The home was undergoing renovations at the time.
North Vancouver City Fire Department crews, meanwhile, had been putting out a car fire in Upper Lonsdale.
Multiple 911 calls came in after smoke was spotted pouring out of the underground parkade at the strip mall on the 2900 block of Lonsdale Avenue.
The fire was contained in the engine compartment of the car.
The driver said he’d only been parked about 20 minutes when the fire happened, said city fire chief Dan Pistilli.
“There was a fair amount of smoke that was coming out of the parkade but other than that, no damage,” Pistilli said.
Earlier in the evening, around 6:30 p.m., North Vancouver RCMP were tasked with a minor arson investigation after someone lit the contents of a garbage can up against the wall of St. Pius X elementary.
A nearby resident spotted the fire and district firefighters quickly put it out.
Witnesses reported three boys running from the scene. Police later tracked them down and identified the one who started the fire.
Parish Priest Father John Horgan is asking that the kids be referred to the restorative justice program rather than face criminal charges.
The building escaped any serious damage, De Jong said.
