A structural fire in Maple Ridge Thursday evening had the RCMP closing down Dewdney Trunk Road both ways near the 22100-block.
Maple Ridge fire crew responded to reports of a structural just after 7 p.m. When the crews arrived, they found a working fire at the Devonshire Court Housing Co-operative, explained fire chief Michael Van Dop. The fire was on the second floor of the three-storey building.
“The suite where the fire originated is significantly damaged, but no other damage to the building was observed. The apartment below the suite had a little bit water damage but the occupants of the building were able to return to their apartments last night, so no one was displaced,” he said.
A total of 24 firefighters using six fire apparatus battled the fire and were able to quickly put it out, containing it to the suite where it originated. They then entered the houses for a search and located a woman in her 40s unconscious and not breathing. She was then brought outside and the crew administered CPR. She was rushed to the hospital in serious condition, as soon as the BC Ambulance personnel arrived.
“It was fortunate that with the prompt arrival, the fire was contained relatively early,” said the fire chief.
The fire had the RCMP blocking off Dewdney Trunk Road, both ways, from 216th Street to 22nd Street, until the fire crew attended to the fire and conducted its investigation.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and an investigator was on the scene on Friday morning.
According to the fire chief, while the cause was being investigated, they had determined that the fire was not suspicious in nature.
The 47-unit building was damaged by fire back in April 2021, leaving 20 units damaged and 14 uninhabitable.
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