The smell of smoke lingered as neighbours surveyed the damage of a charred townhouse unit in Willoughby Tuesday afternoon.

Fire crews from both Langley Township and Langley City responded to the blaze at an end unit of the Red Maple Park complex at 7938 209 St.

The call came in just before 2 p.m., said Langley Township deputy fire chief Bruce Ferguson.

Langley Township Hall 4 (Willoughby), Hall 6 (Murrayville), and Hall 8 (Walnut Grove) responded, and Langley City’s Fire Department sent its tower one apparatus to battle the blaze, that affected the exterior of the townhome.

All told, roughly 18 Langley Township firefighters and four Langley City firefighters joined forces.

Exactly what caused the fire is still under investigation.

There were no flames inside the unit so no sprinkler activation was needed, however there was some fire in the attic of the home.

There were also no injuries reported.

“It was a good stop, it could have been a lot worse,” Ferguson said. “If it got into the attic it could have been a lot worse.”

Neighbours said they heard crackling and came out to see billows of smoke coming from the townhome.

“I saw flames just reaching the roof,” said Brad Buurman. “I was freaking out because I saw a huge cloud of smoke.”