Multiple fire trucks were called to the scene of a house fire on 240th Street near 61st Avenue in Langley Sunday evening, Feb. 25.
Langley Township deputy fire chief Russ Jenkins said the call came in around 6:40 p.m.
“When our crew arrived it was a fully involved structure fire,” Jenkins said.
“We had a number of apparatus attend because that area of Langley does not have hydrants. So, we tender water in and out.”
Firefighters had to wait for a FortisBC technician to turn off the gas.
“The gas meter was venting off and burning,” Jenkins explained.
“Our practice, typically, is not to shut it down, just so we know exactly where the gas is, so we had to wait for Fortis to get there and shut the gas [off] at the road.”
Occupants of the two-storey house were not hurt, and no firefighters were injured, Jenkins reported.
“Everything went according to plan from a safety perspective,” Jenkins commented.
Damage to the house, however, was extensive.
Unconfirmed social media posts said two cats were missing.
Crews were at the scene about four hours, then fire investigators were back Monday, attempting to determine the cause of the blaze.
Jenkins said initial indications are it was not suspicious.
Witnesses said the early evening blaze spread quickly. Smoke and flame could be seen billowing high over the tall trees in the North Otter neighbourhood.
It appeared the house was completely destroyed, with one witness saying it was fully engulfed by the time fire crews arrived.
“It looked like a gigantic bonfire,” said area resident Kevin Lukezic. “There was no saving it.”
“We heard the cops come down first, and then we got down here and there was probably two fire trucks, and then, in the span of 25 minutes that we were down here, there was probably 13 [fire trucks],” Lukezic added.
“It was just a blast of flames in the air,” another witness, a local resident who did not want to go on camera, told The Langley Advance Times.
“Probably 80-90 feet in the air. There was popping. Something was blowing up.”
An online post described it as “a gigantic ball of flames” so hot that a next-door neighbour was forced to turn their back to it.
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