Three homes were severely damaged in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood in a three-alarm fire early Wednesday.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue said firefighters responded to a fire around 4:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Keefer Street.
Fire Chief Karen Fry said a home under renovation was fully involved and the fire quickly spread to two neighbouring homes.
“The houses on either side had occupants at the time, but they managed to get out,” Fry said.
“These are older homes. They are close together and fires can spread really quickly from one home to another.”
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A resident from one of the neighbouring homes that caught fire told Global News of a scary escape.
Theodora Lamb, her three kids, her dog and her partner made it out in the nick of time.
“The fire was on us as we were exiting through the side of the house,” she said.
“It hadn’t come through the walls, but you could feel the heat coming through.”
Firefighters were also able to assist rescuing a cat from one of the homes.
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A nearby resident said he was sleeping at the time of the ignition and sirens woke him and his son.
“I popped my head outside and saw the house two doors down ablaze. We got our shoes on and our downstairs neighbour was banging on doors, yelling ‘fire!’” Vincent Jones said.
“As we came down the front steps, there was an explosion.”
Ten residents have been displaced and Fry said they will be displaced for “quite some time.”
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