In less than 24 hours, Surrey Fire Service responded to three “major” fires, according to a Facebook post from the department.
In the early hours of July 2, Surrey assistant chief of operations David Burns said there was a house fire in Newton near 138th Street and 58th Avenue.
“It was a house fire that spread to a second house,” Burns told the Now-Leader.
“It was a single house that was fully involved when crews arrived and spread to a second house, which they extinguished. It was a roof fire on the second house and it melted the exterior of at least three other homes.”
Burns said two families were displaced by the fire, but there were no injuries. He said no one was in the home when the fire started in the first house.
Around the same time, crews were also on scene of a fire at an abandoned house in South Surrey in the 3600-block of 176th Street around 1 a.m.
READ ALSO: Fire destroys abandoned South Surrey house, July 2, 2019
Assistant fire chief Chris Keon said the fire was on a rural lot on the east side of 176th Street. When crews arrived, he said, it was “a fully involved house fire.”
“The house was a total loss.”
Keon said no one was in the house at the time, and that the homeowner has been located.
The fire is not believed suspicious, he said.
Then on the morning of Canada Day, 12 people were displaced after a fire ripped through a townhouse complex in the 15500-block of 89th Avenue around 10 a.m.
READ ALSO: Twelve people displaced after fire rips through Surrey townhouse complex, July 2, 2019
“There were townhouses, two units, involved in a four-townhouse block,” said battalion chief Spiro Pegios. “Two townhouses were completely destroyed but the other two units were saved.”
Of the 12 people displaced, Pegios said four people were able to return home after fire investigators wrapped up the scene Tuesday. He said there were minor injuries.
The cause of the townhouse fire is unknown, so far.
“It was a challenging fire in the fact that when we got there it was already into the roof, attic area. And, there was restricted access because there was a bottleneck in the driveway. But we had decent enough access,” Pegios said.
Burns said investigators have been out to all of the scenes, but as of Wednesday morning, there weren’t any answers on the causes.
- With files from Tracy Holmes and Amy Reid
