An unattended pot of oil on a stove is being attributed as the cause of a fire that destroyed an Abbotsford apartment last Friday night.
Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service was called to the Abbotsford Place apartment building – located at 32850 George Ferguson Way – at about 11:30 p.m.
When crews arrived, heavy black smoke was coming from a second-floor suite, and the unit quickly became engulfed in flames.
Crews quickly contained the fire and kept it from spreading to the other units in the three-storey building.
The suite was destroyed, and 12 other apartments suffered heavy smoke and water damage, said Assistant Fire Chief Ron Hull.
Two city buses were dispatched to house residents of the building while crews battled the blaze.
Most of the occupants were able to return to their suites once the fire was out, but several residents required temporary housing. There were no injuries.
Hull said a total of 48 firefighters were on the scene, along with 12 firetrucks from six different fire halls.
The cost of the fire damage is estimated at between $100,000 and $200,000.