A fire that started in the Moodyville neighbourhood of North Vancouver was quickly put down by firefighters, according to the city's fire chief.
The blaze started early Wednesday evening at The Morrison Townhomes on the 600 block of East Third Street.
But the fire was out by 5:30 p.m.
"We were able to respond really quickly," said North Vancouver City Fire Department Chief Greg Schalk, adding that trucks from both the city and district fire departments were dispatched to the scene.
The townhomes are newly constructed, and were unoccupied, Schalk said. No injuries have been reported.
A call came in to NVCFD at 4:55, said Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Payne, who responded to the blaze.
“We're fortunate, we're very proximal to everything in the city. So within six blocks of leaving the fire hall, we could actually see the plume of smoke,” he said.
Payne said he then upgraded it to a North Shore working fire, which sends additional trucks from the district and gives them more manpower at the initial stages of the fire.
There was heavy, black smoke showing on arrival, he said.
“It was a residential townhouse complex with a middle courtyard, and it was a structure in the middle of the courtyard attached to the northern wing of the building that was on fire,” Payne said, adding that the blaze was contained within 15 to 20 minutes of fire crews being on site.
While an investigation is being carried out, he said that the fire was “definitely accidental.”
“We don't know the exact cause right now but preliminarily it may have been roofing material,” Payne added.
To his knowledge, the interiors of the units were undamaged.
Elliott Chun, a Realtor who lives nearby, saw the aftermath of the fire. He said parts of the building’s exterior looked significantly burnt, with black char along the structure and the light-coloured siding darkened by smoke.
At the peak of the fire, his wife happened to be nearby and caught it on video. In the footage, flames and thick black smoke can be seen pouring from the building, among the sounds of fire truck sirens and cracking timber.
“Oh my gosh, look what’s happening in our local park,” Chun said his wife exclaimed, as she sent him the video.
Chun was at Phase 1 of the Morrison townhome project at around 2 p.m. to view a unit. The fire blazed in Phase 2 just hours later.
“It goes to show you how a dramatic event can happen in an instant,” he said.
Wow. Fire at The Morrison townhomes construction phase 2. @derekgrech and I were just there earlier looking at phase 1. Hope everyone ok. #Moodyville #LowerLonsdale #Vanre pic.twitter.com/Bfb6pyfiNN
— Elliott Chun, REALTOR® (@elliottchun) June 15, 2023
