Dozens forced out of Burnaby hotel due to nearby fire

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – Many have been allowed back in, but fire at a nearby building forced dozens of people at a Burnaby hotel out onto the street early Friday morning.

The fire broke out right across the parking lot from the hotel at Kingsway and Royal Oak, at a vacant red brick building. People at the Best Western were told to leave the building as a precaution.

They huddled on the street, cloaked in white blankets and duvets, which were handed out by the hotel staff.

Natalie Larocque was woken up by a loud sound. Her daughter wondered if it might be gunfire, before they saw the fire. “Embers started to drop on the grass. We started to step on them to put them out. Other than that, we didn’t really feel threatened.”

“My mom and my boyfriend came running to the door to look,” says Amanda Larocque. “We just, being tourists from out of town, got our phones and started recording. That’s when an officer came from the side and was like, ‘You guys need to put your phones away and get out of here.'”

Heat and smoke has damaged some of the rooms in the hotel. People who were booked into those rooms are getting help finding new places to stay.

Two RCMP officers were treated for smoke inhalation during the evacuations.

 

Fire crews say they are worried about the building collapsing.

They will be keeping Kingsway closed around Royal Oak for most of the morning.

The fire broke out around 3 a.m. There’s no word yet on a cause.

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