Support building for those displaced by North Vancouver fire
Posted June 12, 2018 12:01 pm.
Last Updated June 12, 2018 12:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The cause of a fire that killed two people in North Vancouver early Monday morning is still a mystery.
But as investigators continue to work on figuring that out, support is building around the dozens unable to go home.
A community recovery meeting is planned for tomorrow evening, where anyone affected will be told about resources they can take advantage of.
“To bring them together and ensure that people are aware of what other resources are available to them out in the community moving forward,” explains North Vancouver District Fire Chief Brian Hutchinson.
The meeting will be held at the Karen Magnussen Recreation Centre from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
A GoFundMe campaign has launched to provide some financial support. Meantime, the Lynn Valley Lions Club is also going to be accepting donations to lend its support to those affected by the fire.
About 70 people have been forced from their homes as a result of the fire at Mountain Village Garden Apartments, which tore through the building on Mountain Highway near East 24th Street early Monday morning.
The victims have only been identified as a mother and son.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the blaze, but Hutchinson says there has been no indication the fire was suspicious.
Because the building was so heavily damaged, he says crews have had trouble getting into some of the units.
“Due to the structural integrity of the building being unstable, we require some heavy equipment to come in and clear out some of the roof material, so that we can actually get into the affected suites.”
Once inside the affected suites, he adds investigators will try to determine whether smoke alarms were working in them.
“We do know that they were working in adjacent units because we actually did disconnect a couple of them once the fire had been extinguished and our members were able to get in there — some of them were still sounding,” he tells NEWS 1130. “We also know that the systems in the building were recently serviced and checked, so that’s a good sign. As well when our incident commander did arrive, the other three buildings were all in alarm as well because all four buildings are on one alarm system.”
