Kids sound alarm in Delta apartment fire

Children are being credited with sounding the alarm in an apartment fire in Delta, B.C., early Tuesday.

Several residents of the building, near Scott Road and Nordel Way, told CBC News they were awakened just after 6 a.m. PT by children running through the halls yelling there was a fire.

Smoke could be seen pouring from the roof of the three-storey building in the community southeast of Vancouver.

At least six fire trucks were on the scene. Several people on the upper floors of the building reportedly were rescued by ladder from balconies and windows. Paramedics said eight people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.

The 85-unit wood-frame building was not equipped with sprinklers or firewalls, and it took crews several hours to get the blaze under control, fire officials said.

Awakened by children

Some residents speculated that the fire may have started in a third-floor suite when a resident's coffeemaker exploded, but fire officials were unable to comment on the cause of the blaze.

Gladice Silvus said she was awakened by the children who were yelling and rushed to get herself and her paralyzed husband out of the building. She was concerned about retrieving her husband's medication and where they would stay overnight.

Residents were being directed to the nearby Kennedy Seniors Recreation Centre on 88th Avenue to register with officials and wait until emergency shelter could be arranged.