An Upper Lonsdale townhouse was heavily damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon.
District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services raced to the home in the 3000 block of St.
Mary's Avenue just before 4 p.m. after a bus driver noticed smoke billowing from the back of the building and called 9-1-1. By the time crews arrived, there was heavy
smoke and flames, putting the rest of the townhouse complex in jeopardy.
"It quickly got into the attic space but the crew did a great job aggressively attacking and getting at it quickly. They did a good job extinguishing it in a fairly quick manner and stopped any chance of it spreading to those neighbouring homes," said assistant fire chief Jason DeRoy.
The homeowners, an elderly couple, were vacationing in the U.S. at the time of the fire. Though no one was injured, the couple's two cats perished in the blaze, according to North Vancouver RCMP.
On Thursday, DeRoy said it was not clear whether the scorched townhouse unit was damaged beyond repair.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation with RCMP and fire investigators on scene Thursday and Friday, though police say it is not considered suspicious.
