Apartment City

Firefighters were back at the scene of an apartment fire in Maple Ridge, B.C., Friday morning. The fire flared up again just as crews were preparing to leave around 6:45 a.m. PT. The two- alarm fire started in a bedroom on the third floor of the four-storey building on the 2300-block of McIntosh Avenue Thursday night . It was finally extinguished by 8:30 a.m. Fire crews said the fire spread quickly because there were no sprinklers in the building, but much of the damage was caused by fire hose water . Around 30 people were forced from the building, and an elderly couple and a dog had to be rescued by ladder off the balconies. One person was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. The residents were taken to a nearby hotel and some have already been told it could be months before they are able to move back in. A marijuana grow-op was also discovered in a suite on the third floor of the building, but firefighters said they did not think it was linked to the fire. Police are expected t...

WATCH: A fire broke out at an apartment building near downtown Maple Ridge , engulfing a number of suites in the top floor. The flames spread so quickly that some residents were trapped and had to be rescued. Jennifer Palma has the story. Fire crews in Maple Ridge spent much of Saturday fighting a large apartment fire that gutted several suites. Story continues below Firefighters from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were called out to Sunrise Apartments at 22292 122 Ave. early Saturday morning . Neighbours say they heard loud explosions . According to Maple Ridge Fire & Rescue Chief Dane Spence, the fire was immediately upgraded to a two-alarm fire.“We had people on the third-floor balconies,” said Spence. “There was already so much smoke they couldn’t get out. They were on the corners of the building on the balconies. We had at least one person with a disability that needed help down a ladder.”“Later on in the operations we heard a very faint call for help. The faintest voice said...