British Columbia

Langley house fire displaces 7 residents

Large flames and thick smoke billowed from a house on 90 Avenue early Friday morning.

All escaped safely, but interior of the house was completely gutted by the fire

Firefighters prepare to enter the burning house, located in the 21000-block of 90 Avenue. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Seven people were displaced after a fire broke out in their Langley home early Friday morning.

The residents were woken up by the sound of explosions and popping, and safely escaped after seeing flames.

The two-alarm fire broke out some time before 2 a.m. Friday. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

"One of the daughters inside the house actually woke up, came outside and saw the fire, and obviously alerted the rest of the folks and they all evacuated quickly," said Deputy Chief Russ Jenkins.

Crews arrived around 2 a.m. to find large flames and thick smoke coming from the roof of the two-storey home on 90 Avenue.

Two of the residents hug their dog as crews continue to battle the fire inside their house. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Jenkins says the fire appeared to have started from outside the garage, but quickly spread into the interior of the home.

'A fair amount of damage'

"One of the residents had quite a number of things stored in the garage, there was a fairly heavy fire load in there from that," he said.

"It's a fair amount of damage … it's gonna be a significant rebuild."

Deputy Chief Russ Jenkins says fire completely gutted the interior of the house. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

A volunteer disaster assistance group is working to find a hotel for the residents, as the interior of the house was completely gutted by the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Jenkins said it's hard to tell if it's suspicious in nature.

Neighbours watch as the flames and smoke engulf a large part of the house. (Gian-Paolo Mendoza/CBC)