A rapidly spreading house fire late last night has left a New Westminster family unable to return to their home.
New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services received the call around 11:30 p.m. and arrived at the home on Third Street and Fourth Avenue to find the entire basement consumed by flames.
“By the time firefighters got there, flames had broken through the basement windows,” said Dept. Chief John Hatch. The fire had also spread to the upstairs area, Hatch added.
The family of four were uninjured after evacuating the home when a downstairs smoke alarm alerted them to the fire.
“(The homeowner) thought about controlling it, but it had expanded (beyond his control),” Hatch said. “The fire damage was extensive.”
The 22 firefighters on site were able to control and extinguish the blaze, but the family was required to spend the night at a neighbour’s house and are not expected to get back into their home for quite some time.
Despite the damage, Hatch said the home’s activated smoke detectors prevented the situation from being much worse.
“This is proof that fire alarms do save lives and … a good example of four people who were able to get out safety thanks to activated alarms,” he said.
Fire investigators are looking into what started the fire but are not considering the cause to be suspicious at this time.
