North Vancouver City Fire Department members are working to find out what caused a fire that dealt heavy damage to a Central Lonsdale apartment penthouse early Tuesday morning.
About 32 firefighters were on scene shortly after 4:20 a.m. when the building’s fire alarm went off.
The blaze appears to have started on the penthouse deck, atop the third floor roof, and then spread to the rest of the penthouse unit.
“This looks like another one where the fire alarm contributed to early detection of the fire and early response by the fire department. We were able to put that out quite quickly,” said assistant fire chief David Owens.
One woman was taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Residents also reported hearing explosions as the fire roared.
“I heard a really loud bang. It sounded like a gunshot or something,” neighbour Jeff Matthews said.
The likely culprit: two one-litre propane tanks on the roof.
“They were not the cause of the fire but the result of them being in the proximity of the fire caused them to heat up and go pop,” Owens said.
The suites on the lower floors also incurred some smoke and water damage. While the penthouse unit will have to be gutted, it’s too soon to say whether residents from the other 15 units will be allowed to return home anytime soon. Firefighters did comb through the suites to collect a list of residents’ must-haves, like medication, keys and cellphones.
Owens said the fire underscores why it is important for renters to have insurance.
“Typically less than half of the people do and it’s disappointing to see that they don’t have home insurance,” he said.
