One dead after early morning fire at Burnaby home

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – A woman in her 70s is dead after a fire broke out at a Burnaby home in the area of Ranelagh Avenue and Dundas Street Tuesday morning.

Deputy Chief Chris Bowcock said crews got the call around 1:00 a.m., while they were on their way back to the fire station from another incident in the northwest of the city.

“They responded to a second fire on Capitol Hill,” Bowcock explained earlier in the morning. “There was a structure fire on arrival with heavy fire showing, and a report of an individual within the building.”

Crews rushed into the burning building to rescue the person, who was then taken away by ambulance. The house is badly damaged. Investigators still working to determine what caused the fire.

— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) December 17, 2019

Bowcock said firefighters began rescue operations to help the person inside the home, “under heavy fire conditions.”

“The individual was brought out and first aid was immediately started and the individual was passed to BC Ambulance Service on scene,” he added.

The woman did not survive. A second person was also taken to the hospital, Bowcock said, but only one person had to be rescued from inside the home when firefighters arrived.

Fire Investigation unit preparing to head into what’s left of the house. Still secured behind yellow police tape. pic.twitter.com/lA2njddHCT

— Mike Lloyd (@llikemoyd) December 17, 2019

Images from the scene showed thick smoke billowing from the house, which Bowcock said sustained a large amount of damage.

“Of course, whenever we get information that leads us to believe there is someone within the house, the extinguishment of fire becomes a second goal after the rescue of individuals,” he explained. “We went past the extinguishment, and effected that rescue. So it delayed our time of extinguishment, but we are very committed to the rescue of life on the inside of buildings.”

Both the fire department and the RCMP are now investigating to determine what caused the fire.

Due to the heavy conditions of the fire, Bowcock later said efforts were complicated.

“The amount of heat within the building changes the evidence and its preservation — if there is any,” he said, adding the extent of the damage left can make it difficult to figure out just where exactly the fire started.

“They’re very highly skilled and trained and finding out what the cause of the fire is is a huge piece of the total response.”

More than 30 firefighters worked to put the flames out.