One woman was sent to hospital and traffic along a section of Prairie Avenue was diverted for several hours Thursday morning after fire tore through a Port Coquitlam home.
Scott Walters, a tenant in the three-bedroom basement suite of the home, said he awoke to his landlord banging on the window yelling at everyone to get out of the house.
"The full house was up in smoke," Walters said. "It was hard to get out I woke up to the smoke and basically had enough time to crawl out of the basement window."
He told The Tri-City News his roommate the victim who was taken to hospital said she had smelled gas emanating from the back area of the home before the fire broke out.
The incident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. at the home near Finlay and Prairie, a few blocks from Port Coquitlam Fire Hall No. 2.
Fire Chief Nick Delmonico said the owner of the property was just returning from a trip to the gym when he noticed flames and smoke coming from the basement. The homeowner was just getting the tenants out of the building when fire crews arrived and the blaze had already spread to the upper floors and the roof, he added.
"All we know is that it started in the basement but we don't have a determination yet," Delmonico said. "The flames were coming out of the basement window."
Five people were living in the house at the time of the blaze, he added, noting that fire investigators were on scene Thursday morning in an effort to determine the cause.
Meanwhile, Walters said he has lived in Port Coquitlam all his life and was a resident at the Prairie Avenue home since last year. He does not have insurance and said he has no idea where he will live after the 72 hours in emergency shelter provided to fire victims is over.
"Really, I just want to get my stuff," he said. "I think my stuff is just fine. I just have to get access to it."
