The Salvation Army is offering thrift store vouchers to the families affected by the recent fire at the Sunrise Apartments in Maple Ridge.
Located on the 220th block of 122nd Street, the blaze broke out shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 21 after witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion.
Flames were visible at the rear of the building when firefighters arrived, said chief Dane Spence.
Many tenants were able to escape through smoky hallways, but others were stranded on their balconies.
Firefighters used ladders to help three down from their third-storey apartments. They were able to transport an elderly man in a wheelchair down a stairwell.
More than 100 tenants are now without a home.
The city’s emergency response team and other community organizations are assisting them, as the apartment building is now uninhabitable.
Anyone in need of assistance with thrift store vouchers or toys, can call the Salvation Army’s Community and Family Ministries Advocate at 604-463-8296 ext. 112, or email connie.mcgonigal@caringplace.ca.
In addition The Maple Ridge Christian Reform Church has set up a bank account at Westminster Savings for donations to the Sunrise Apartment Fire fund. The church will administer the funds to help residents of Sunrise Apartments.