A house slated for development was gutted by fire early Sunday morning in Maple Ridge.
Multiple calls came in at around 2:30 a.m. for the fully-involved fire at 22583 Brown Avenue, an abandoned house that was in the process of remediation prior to demolition for the new Edge On Edge 3 condominium complex.
Five fire trucks and more than 20 firefighters battled the blaze that took until around 5 a.m. to get under control.
“We had to do defensive fire operations because one of the power lines was still active and on the ground,” said assistant fire chief Mark Smitton with the Maple Ridge fire department.
BC Hydro was called and arrived got on scene within an hour and a half.
“It got a good hold before we got called so it was pretty much the front was fully involved before the first person actually saw it and called it in,” said Smitton adding that the fire then travelled to the back of the structure.
A tree on the east side of the property also caught fire.
Firefighters made sure residents were out of the properties on either side of the fire and there were no injuries.
It is still unknown where exactly the fire started or what caused the fire.
The fire department was still on scene at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The investigation continues.
• More to follow
