Cause of Richmond apartment fire under investigation
The tenant in the apartment that caught fire was facing eviction, according to the building manager
Investigators are working to determine exactly how an apartment building caught fire in Richmond, early Friday morning.
The fire began a little before 2 a.m. at the 32-suite two-storey building at 8251 Bennett Rd.
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Daniel Bell is one of the residents who was awoken by alarms.
"I was sleeping at the time. It's pretty freaky." said Bell, who was barefoot on the street, after handing his shoes over to his girlfriend. "My girlfriend was a little shaken up, so I had to make sure she was okay."
Richmond Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Tim Wilkinson said crews arrived to find the fire well under way.
"On our arrival, we have two apartments on fire, fully, 100 per cent involved in fire," he said.
Officials quickly upgraded the fire to a second alarm, due to the number of residents that needed to be cleared from the building.
Wilkinson said crews quickly got the fire under control.
Residents, all of whom were uninjured, were eventually loaded onto a bus brought in by TransLink to serve as a temporary shelter.
It was unclear if the residents living in suites that weren't burnt would be able to get back inside right away.
"We'll be doing a safety check of the building, making sure the carbon monoxide counts are low enough for people to re-enter," said Wilkinson, who added that there aren't any sprinklers in the building to cause water damage, and smoke damage is believed to be minimal.
The building manager, who declined to give his name, said that the tenant in the downstairs suite where the fire is believed to have started was facing eviction, after numerous complaints from his neighbours.
The tenant was seen giving a very long statement to Richmond RCMP officers.
Wilkinson was unwilling to speculate exactly how the fire started.
"We're working with RCMP to determine whether its suspicious or not. Right now, we're just investigating."
