A late night apartment fire in Burnaby on Tuesday (Feb. 27) claimed the life of one person.
A crew of 25 firefighters were called to the blaze at 9:15 p.m. and arrived in the 4000-block of Maywood Street to find a working fire in an upper level of a three-storey building. The apartment was vacant, with plywood sheets boarding up the balcony doors on the first floor and fencing blocking off the entrance.
Two people were inside, however, and had to be rescued from the third floor by ladder, according to Deputy Fire Chief Ian Hetherington. One of them died shortly after, Hetherington said.
The BC Coroners Service is investigating the person’s death, while the Burnaby Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.
Hetherington said they had the fire extinguished within two hours, but that they remained on scene with police throughout the night.
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