Stubborn fire at Chilliwack complex destroys building, displaces dozens

An overnight fire at a condo complex in Chilliwack has caused extensive damage to a newer building.

CHILLIWACK (NEWS 1130) — A fire at a Chilliwack apartment complex Saturday took eight hours to extinguish and has displaced dozens of residents.

The Chilliwack Fire Department was called to the three-building condo complex near Stevenson Road and Evans just after midnight on August 10.

Flames erupted on the fourth floor of one of the buildings and quickly spread to the attic and the roof, according to Assistant Chief Andrew Brown.

“This was a very stubborn fire because of the location, it was up in an attic space so it’s hard to access,” he said. “Crews are ascending four storeys to get to it and then having to breach through the ceilings. With the roof collapsing it ends up creating voids and hidden spots for fires.”

Brown said finding hidden fires and extinguishing hot spots in the building took eight hours. One firefighter twisted his ankle fighting the flames but no one else was seriously hurt.

Crews remained on scene until 5 p.m. Saturday trying to salvage essential belongings for the displaced residents, who had been transported by bus to a nearby school. The 60-unit complex is home to between 80 and 100 people, almost all of whom have been displaced by the fire.

Brown said the loss of property was tragic for residents. The upper units were destroyed by the fire, while the lower units were seriously damaged by the water used to fight it.

“It’s always hard to see that, but the consolation we take away from this is that there was no one injured or hurt,” he said. “Everyone got out of the building and they’re all safe and sound.”

He said the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.

Witness describes blaze

A witness contacted NEWS 1130 Saturday morning to describe the fiery scene. Kelly, who declined to give her last name, lives in one of the buildings and says she could smell smoke coming through her air conditioning unit at around midnight on August 10.

She went outside to investigate and initially couldn’t see any flames.

“All of a sudden it was like, I think something around the back, maybe a transformer or something, blew because there was a big poof of smoke and a loud bang. Everyone just sort of started running toward the street,” Kelly says. “That’s really when all the flames started to come.”

Kelly says the fire was centered in the newest building in the complex, constructed just over a year ago. The building was heavily damaged in the fire, she says, and she believes it will likely have to be torn down.

Her own building was evacuated but wasn’t impacted by the fire, and she was allowed to go back in at around 3 a.m.

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