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Three families displaced after townhouse fire

Fire broke out on the deck of a townhouse in the 8200 block of 209A Street in the Yorkson neighbourhood.
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A fire Tuesday night at a townhouse complex in the 8200 block of 209A Street in the Yorkson area of Willoughby has led to the temporary displacement of three families. The fire originated on the exterior deck of one unit of the complex.

Three families have been temporarily displaced after a fire broke out at a Yorkson townhouse on Tuesday night.

Around 8:30 p.m., Langley Township fire crews arrived to flames licking up the roofline of a townhome in the 8200 block of 209B Street.

“The fire started on the exterior deck,” said assistant fire chief Pat Walker. “It quickly spread to the vinyl siding and progressed up to the soffits and into the attic.”

The fire spread to the exteriors of the units on either side, said Walker.

The vinyl around the windows near the flames melted, causing the windows to fall in and the flames to get inside the home, he said.

“That’s when the sprinklers activated, thank goodness,” said Walker.

Firefighters from three fire halls were called to the scene, putting out the flames and cleaning up.

No one was injured in the fire.

A fire investigator was on scene early Wednesday morning, investigating the origin of the blaze. There was a barbecue on the balcony but it wasn’t used.

The couple who live there had just returned from holidays. They are not smokers, said Walker.

There is a plug and a light so that will be looked at. It isn’t known if the fire is suspicious, he said.

The couple will not be able to return to their home for a while and didn’t have content insurance, said Walker.

“I really want to urge people to get content insurance, he said.”

The unit suffered a fair amount of water damage. The neighbouring units suffered exterior fire damage, he said.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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