Surrey fire victims hope to retrieve belongings soon

There will be a meeting this afternoon for residents of the Surrey apartment complex that went up in flames early Wednesday morning.

Residents of about 45 suites hope they'll be told when they'll be able to return to their suites to survey the damage and retrieve personal belongings.

"We'll get them back in as quick as we can, but it has to be safe first," said Surrey Fire Deputy Chief Dan Barnscher.

"We won't let anyone back in until it's safe, and typically when we let people back in they're escorted by a fire fighter."

About eight to 10 suites were badly damaged by the fire, and about a dozen more were damaged by smoke and water, said Barnscher.

Residents worried

Resident Jesse Mackel suspects his unit is not in good shape.

"Luckily we have family in town, so it's not too devastating for us," he said. "Everyone is safe and hopefully we'll find out if our stuff is safe soon."

Residents were jolted out of bed when their alarms went off around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"When I went to downstairs I saw my balcony was on fire and the fire was coming from the bottom, so I ran and I just left," said resident Jacqueline Lou.

"My suite is all gone. All gone. I feel okay. Everyone is safe and that's what matters. We can rebuild again."

Firefighters say no one was hurt in the fire and all pets made it out safely.

Investigators will be on scene near King George Blvd. and 108Avenue for most of the day, trying to determine what caused the fire.

They believe it started on a balcony of one of the lower floors and quickly spread up the exterior wall and into the attic.

"We had vaulted ceilings on the top floor, and once any fire gets into a void it finds its way out any it can and it will jump from suite to suite through the attic," Barnscher said.