Byrne Creek streamkeepers are, but again, counting dead fish after another chemical spill in the creek. This time, it appears to be linked to a fire upstream.

Streamkeeper Paul Cipywnyk got a call from fellow volunteers around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 28, reporting foam in the creek in a ravine near Southridge Drive. Cipywnyk went further upstream only to find a pond with lots of foam and roughly a dozen dead trout and coho.

They looked around the neighbourhood and saw a fire truck near Kingsway and 16th Avenue, where there had been a house fire.

"We asked the firefighters if they'd used foam, and they said yes, a full load from one of their trucks. The drainage flow from the site of the fire into storm drains was evident," Cipywnyk reported.

"Streamkeepers are certainly not going to question firefighters for doing an outstanding job in ensuring the safety of the community. It's just unfortunate if this is confirmed as the source of the kill."

The streamkeepers are estimating several hundred fish have perished, and the spill could mean another total kill for the creek, whose fish were wiped out last March when some kind of cleaning agent was likely spilled or dumped down a storm drain that led to the creek.

"It looks like it was another complete wipeout," Cipywnyk said.

Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wilson of the Burnaby Fire Department said the foam used on the nearby home was non-toxic.

"We use it around here all the time, and it goes into Burnaby Lake, and there's no detrimental effect to the fish," he said. But, whatever was mixed in the run-off from the house fire is a mystery.

"It's undetermined what's in that house. It's a total wreck of a house, and there's all sorts of a number of things stored in that house - paints and thinner and who know what else is in there, ... it's like a hoarders' house," he said. "We've taken extreme measures to make sure (our foam) non toxic (and) biodegradable."

Wilson said the building is being torn down.

"Basically, it's a toxic hazard waste site right now," he said.

As for the streamkeepers, Cipywnyk isn't sure what will happen next.

"There's not much we can do. The fish are dead, and it's very unfortunate. Of course, assuming the fire was the source of the material that entered the creek, it's very unfortunate, and the safety of the community has to come first... (The firefighters) were just doing their job."