2 families out of their homes after fire in Surrey cul-de-sac

Two families are out of their homes after fire destroyed one home and jumped to another at a cul-de-sac in south Surrey, B.C., overnight.

Firefighters were called to the first home in the 5800 block of 138 Street just before 1:30 a.m. Crews arrived to find flames shooting out of a two-storey house and leaping to the home next door.

"It was quite spectacular. Large embers were being driven by the wind a block away. I was quite shocked there wasn't five or six houses that were going. There were embers dropping everywhere," said Surrey Fire Battallion Chief Reo Jerome.

"Thankfully, it wasn't as dry as a couple weeks ago or we could've had a real event here."

Jerome said the family of six living in the first house was out watching Canada Day fireworks in Cloverdale when the fire started. Their home was completely burned.

Five people evacuated the second home after neighbours warned them about the fire. Flames burned a large hole through the roof of their home.

The battalion chief said no one was hurt, but the families were displaced.

The fire was so hot, Jerome said, the heat alone damaged three other homes, melting the siding and shattering several windows.

3 fires in 24 hours

Another overnight fire sparked 20 minutes earlier destroyed a home on 176 Street, in the flats of south Cloverdale. No one was home at the time.

"There were no hydrants in the area so water had to be shuttled in," said Jerome. "It's a total loss."

A third fire in Surrey sent one person to hospital around 10:15 a.m. Monday.