Residents of a Burnaby house that went up in flames Wednesday morning could have avoided a lot of damage to their home if they’d called the fire department as soon as they smelled smoke the night before.
Fire crews were called to the 7500 block of Mark Crescent for a house fire at about 6:40 a.m. Wednesday.
By the time they got there, flames were showing out the front door and smoke was coming from the roof of the single-family dwelling.
An elderly woman was found on the front lawn and treated for smoke inhalation, but she refused to go to the hospital, according to assistant fire Chief Gavin Summers.
None of the other occupants, including a cat and a German shepherd, were injured in the blaze.
The residents of the house had smelled smoke the night before but assumed it was coming from a neighbour’s house, according to owner Halil Bulubay.
He said things seemed fine when he and his wife left for work at about 5:45 a.m., but, when he came back a short time later, he found fire crews by his home.
“There’s extensive damage to the house,” Summers said. “It’s too bad they never called us sooner.”
The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but it is not deemed to be suspicious, according to the fire department.
