Fire sends five to hospital

Fire sends five to hospital
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published March 23, 2003

A late night house fire sent five people to hospital and caused serious damage to a three-storey home in an affluent north Burnaby neighbourhood Thursday morning.
The fire started around 12:25 a.m. inside the basement utility room of the house at 3966 Cambridge St.
The house was occupied by five residents, all of whom were either students or recent graduates of Simon Fraser University, BCIT and Capilano College.
The three upstairs tenants and a guest were able to flee the building safely, but the two tenants in the basement had apparently fallen asleep or were unconscious and needed to be rescued.
"It was scary," said the mother of two men who lived in the house. "The first clue that something was going on was when I saw the house on fire on the TV news."
"I quickly called the fire department and was told my sons had been taken to hospital," said the woman, who did not want to be identified. "They're safe, and that's a huge relief."
Fire investigator Doug Hahn said the men from upstairs initially tried to rescue their downstairs housemates by using the inside staircase, but they were turned back by the smoke and flames.
Fleeing the house, the men broke a downstairs window with a boulder, only to discover that one of the women in the basement suite was unconscious. After several tense moments, the woman was roused and was also able to flee the house on her own strength.
A total of five people were taken to hospital as a result of the fire, including two female tenants of the house who suffered smoke inhalation, plus two male tenants and a firefighter who suffered lacerations.
While the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation, Hahn said he is concentrating his efforts on the building's utility room.
"There are so many factors to look at," Hahn said. "You've got natural gas in the furnace and the hot water tank, plus extensive modifications to the electrical systems, so at this point it's just a process of elimination."
Although electrical modifications are often found around marijuana grow operations, Hahn noted that fire and police crews were unable to find any evidence of illegal activity at the Cambridge Street property.
Deputy fire chief Rich Rawlings estimated damage to the home at about $300,000 and noted seven fire trucks and 22 department personnel were called out to the incident. The Salvation Army also attended to provide nourishment and coffee for the fire crews and victims.
Rawlings said police are also involved in the early part of the investigation to help determine if the fire was started accidentally or by design.