British Columbia

3 major blazes keep overnight fire crews busy in Vancouver

Firefighters in Vancouver earned their keep Friday night and early Saturday morning, working to contain three separate blazes across the city.

2 fires in East Vancouver, 1 in the Dunbar area

Vancouver firefighters attended three separate blazes overnight in Vancouver. Pictured here is a house fire on Lakewood Drive in the early hours of July 1. (Ryan Stelting)

Firefighters in Vancouver were kept busy Friday night and early Saturday morning, battling three separate blazes across the city.

Crews attended two fires in East Vancouver — one on 6th Avenue and one on Lakewood Drive — and another in the Dunbar area.

"Our members worked hard," said John Zacharuk, assistant chief of operations with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services. "Some went from one fire to another."

"We were stretched at times, for sure."

Zacharuk said no one was hurt in any of the fires, and the causes of the blazes have not been determined.

Vancouver firefighters work to contain a house fire on Lakewood Drive in the early hours of Saturday morning. The blaze was one of three major fires attended by fire crews overnight. (Ryan Stelting)

The first fire happened on the 3600 block of West 24th Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. Zacharuk said it started on the rear balcony of the house.

The second fire occurred on the 3200 block of East 6th Avenue, just after midnight. Zacharuk said the house was slated for demolition, and had been stripped of drywall and windows.

Zachurak said an adjacent house was in the framing stages of construction, which also caught fire. He said that fire is being treated as suspicious.

The final fire broke out in the basement of a house on the 3500 block of Lakewood Drive. When crews arrived shortly after 2 a.m., Zacharuk said the house was fully engulfed.

"The initial house has pretty much been gutted," he said.

Zacharuk said there was one person home at the time.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services is still investigating all three fires.