Two people were flown to hospital with serious burns after a blaze engulfed the west wing of a Mission apartment building in the early hours of June 15.
Mission firefighters were called to Ridgewood Place at 7265 Haig St. just after 2 a.m., and immediately had to start performing rescues, said Fire Chief Mark Goddard.
He said they rescued six people still inside the building, two with serious burns, but they don’t have an accurate tally of evacuees.
“We can’t really say if there’s anyone still missing,” Goddard said.
All three Mission stations were called, along with a unit from North Fraser, two units from Maple Ridge, and a ladder truck from Abbotsford.
Operations began with Mission and Abbotsford ladder trucks knocking down the flames which had spread through the building’s roof, followed by firefighters conducting more searches through the building, Goddard said.
He said it took three and a half hours before the fire was completely extinguished.
Emergency Support Services has opened a site at the Mission Leisure Centre for the displaced residents; 15 are currently there, but some self-evacuated the building and are not present.
“We’re working on that with ESS right now, and getting a list from the property manager and cross referencing it,” Goddard said. “We’re unsure how many evacuees we have right now.”
The entire west side of the three-storey building was severely damaged by fire, and the east side has significant smoke and water damage, Goddard said.
“Nobody is going to be going back in there for a long time,” he said. “Three floors have all been affected, and all residents have been affected to some degree. Some people have lost everything.”
The entire building has been cordoned off with yellow tape, and multiple fire investigators are present at the building.
Goddard the investigation is in its preliminary stages, and they are unsure where the fire originated from.
“The investigation is going to be long and complex on this due to the level of damage.”
@portmoodypigeon
patrick.penner@missioncityrecord.com
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