Kitchen fire causes alarm for firefighters

It was a show of force Tuesday afternoon when three fire trucks and the Burnaby fire command vehicle responded to a fire at UniverCity – turns out it was just a burning pot on a stove.

Around 12:30 p.m. firefighters received a call to a two-alarm blaze at 9232 University Dr. at Simon Fraser’s UniverCity development. The fire department responded to the two-alarm and, in anticipation of a large fire, sent out three fire trucks and a command vehicle. Upon arrival, however, firefighters quickly determined it was only a minor fire, assistant chief Bryan Kirk told the NOW.

“It was just a cooking incident, a pot on the stove – our most common type of call,” Kirk said.

In a panic, the resident had locked himself on his balcony and crews had to rescue him using the ladder, Kirk said.

The unit sustained minimal damage.

The dense cluster of condos and townhouses proved to be tricky to navigate for the large trucks, Kirk admitted, but noted that if there had been a big fire anyone parked in a fire lane would have been moved.

“All you need is one person to be negligent, park in the middle of where we need to get to,” he said. “We wouldn’t think twice about breaking the window and rolling it down the hill. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.”