Pitt Meadows firefighters had a hectic day with back-to-back calls to fires in multiple-unit residential buildings on Saturday, May 1.

It started with a fire at the Keystone building at 12350 Harris Rd. at 5:30 a.m. when the smell of something burning led to the evacuation of the building while firefighters searched for the source.

Fire chief Mike Larsson said it turned out to be a fire in a hot-water tank that “self-extinguished.”

Crews were on scene about 90 minutes.

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Later that same day, at 4 p.m. there were reports of smoke in the hallways of the Cedar Downs building at 12525 190A Street.

Residents were evacuated while firefighters located the source of the fire in a second-floor unit of the building and knocked it down.

“There was quite a bit of water damage,” Larsson said, and the result was residents of four units were displaced and had to find alternative accommodation with the assistance of emergency services.

Twenty firefighters and three apparatus were on scene for three-and-a-half hours, said Larsson, who commended the crews for their efforts.

“It was a busy day.”

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