One woman is in hospital and another has been forced out of her home after a townhouse fire in the Seymour area of North Vancouver.
District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue members got the 9-1-1 dispatch call at 5:25 a.m. Monday, reporting flames and a trapped victim in a townhouse on Bowron Court.
"When the first crews arrived, there was heavy flame coming out of the window of the firstfloor suite and it looked like flame as well from the second floor," said assistant fire chief Mike Cairns.
"The crews brought it under control very quickly and were able to contain the actual fire to the suite of origin."
The renter of the suite, a 39-year-old woman, made it out on her own though not before suffering significant burns to her arms, Cairns said. She has since been taken to Vancouver General Hospital for treatment.
The neighbour upstairs, a 92-year-old woman, also managed to escape the early morning blaze by herself and only suffered minor smoke inhalation.
With severe fire damage to the main-floor suite and smoke and water damage to the upstairs unit, both women are out of their homes now.
The cause of fire, unfortunately, will probably never be known.
"The damage was too extensive to figure out a cause. (Investigators) could probably just figure out the room of origin on the main floor," Cairns said.
"There's nothing to indicate it was suspicious. The RC MP have concluded their look at it as well."
While the suites are heavily damaged, they are salvageable.
"The fire was intense but it was just contents mainly. It wasn't getting into the actual structure so they'll have to gut and redo the entire interior," Cairns said.
