A house fire in North Vancouver Tuesday night had firefighters on scene into the early hours Wednesday morning.
Crews from the City of North Vancouver Fire Department arrived at 367 East Eighth St. shortly before 10 p.m. to find heavy smoke and flame coming from the rear of the residence.
Fire Chief Dan Pistilli said the fire was in both levels of the house, the carport and on the main floor. "We confirmed that all the occupants were out of the building and we went into defensive fire attack mode," said Pistilli. "We had concerns with the duplex to the west of the property; we had some exposure issues there so we dealt with the exposure and worked hard to knock the fire down. We had crews stay a little bit longer just to keep an eye on a couple of hotspots, just to confirm that the fire was out."
Pistilli said crews were at the house until 3 a.m. and investigators were still on scene Wednesday morning trying to confirm the exact location of where the fire started. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
"Our fire inspectors are on scene with the RCMP to rule out any suspicious cause," said Pistilli.
Two of the residents were in the home at the time of the fire but managed to escape. "There was one occupant that was upstairs and I believe a roommate," said Pistilli. "We had initial concerns with the tenant in the basement, but it was quickly confirmed that she was away at her mother's place."
Witnesses George Langezaal and his wife Trish Cotter live a street over from where the fire took place. They said when they heard the sirens, they went out onto their balcony, saw the flames and walked over to the scene.
"We saw flames in the back and it was going like hell," said Langezaal.
"It was pretty intense for a while there," said Cotter. "It seemed like it was out for a couple of minutes but then it flared up again."
They said the tenant of the house was standing outside with his bare feet and a neighbour offered him a coat. "He saw the fire and took off out of the house with nothing," said Cotter.
Pistilli said the fire consumed the main floor and basement and went into the attic causing the roof to collapse. "It appears that the house is a complete loss," he said.
