A man was rescued and given CPR on a front lawn during a “significant” house fire in North Surrey Wednesday night.
The blaze started shortly before midnight near 116th Avenue and 140th Street.
“When we arrived four people were outside, and crews were notified there was still somebody missing and was assumed to be inside the building,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jason Cairney.
“Crews assembled quickly to make an entry and do a search for that person and ended up finding him on the second floor.”
Once he had been rescued, it was discovered the man had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, Cairney said.
“Crews started CPR right away and with the help of the ambulance crew, on the front lawn were able to regain a pulse and a little bit of breathing.”
The man was then taken to hospital, but the fire department didn’t have any information on his condition.
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Cairney said 23 firefighters were called out to fight the second-alarm blaze, and footage from the scene shows the house’s roof engulfed in flames.
After being called to the fire at 11:40 p.m., the fire was tackled by 2:26 a.m., he added.
“It seemed like a significant fire,” said Cairney. “The roof structure was involved as well as the back side of the house…. As for why it took some time, the rescue hampered efforts to fight the fire. Crews spent their priority on the rescue… and when that happens the fire progresses faster than it would have, and becomes more entrenched than it would have.”
The fire department says while it’s not treating the fire as suspicious, they “haven’t ruled it out.”
An investigation is underway.
