A blaze that tore through a Port Moody apartment complex last week and left about 50 families homeless was likely caused by plumbing work being done on the building, said Deputy Fire Chief Gord Parker, the same cause of another fire at the complex 15 years ago.
The fire at 900 Clarke Rd. broke out on Wednesday afternoon and quickly spread throughout the Mountain View Co-op building. Fire fighters battled the blaze until late that night as several spot fires flared up in the attic, and it wasn't until Thursday morning that crews finished up.
Parker said the overhaul and mop-up have been completed and the site has been turned over to the insurance company. A restoration company is also on site doing atmospheric testing.
"They're going through a process of trying to make the building safe so people can retrieve items out of their suites," Parker said.
About 60% of the top-floor suites at 900 Clarke Rd. were damaged by the fire and the rest saw mainly smoke and water damage, Parker said. Residents of 902 Clarke Rd. were evacuated during the fire but the damage was contained to the 900-building.
Since then there has been an outpouring of support for the displaced families. Donations of clothing were accepted at the complex last week and a trust account has been established for cash donations.
And on Sunday a Heritage Mountain resident hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for nearly all the families affected by the fire.
Chantal Falk was out running with her friend Sharron Tulk early Thursday morning and smelled the smoke coming from the site; later that day she made a few calls and quickly had friends, family and local businesses on board to put on the dinner.
"I had a lot of help," Falk said of the nearly four dozen volunteers and cooks. "Nobody said no, nobody hesitated, no matter what plans they had. They just made it work, whether it was cooking in their own home or being able to drop off some things."
Tulk and Falk chopped vegetables late into Friday night and by Saturday morning "total strangers came and chopped carrots," Falk said.
"We made 15 turkeys, two huge hams, we made a lot of mashed potatoes, carrots, stuffing, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie. Somebody made homemade cranberry sauce, there were tons of desserts. Somebody delivered a massive pot of gravy — it was just awesome."
Several local businesses also pitched in, including:
• Meat Craft Butchery
• The Pastry Box
• Cobs Suter Brook
• Your Dollar Store
• Subway (Clarke Road and St. Johns Street location)
• Vivio Flowers
• IGA
• Thrifty Foods
• One Stop Rentals
• Dairy Queen (St. Johns Street)
• Christine's Catering
• Starbucks
Falk said 47 of the 50 families whose apartments were destroyed came to the dinner, about 125 people in total, in a party room of one of the Mountain View buildings not affected by the fire.
• Donations are being accepted at Vancity's Port Moody branch (121 Brew St.) under the name Mountain View Coop Trust Account and the account #2067031 (branch 52).
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