A fire caused by an exploding air conditioning unit was quickly doused by sprinklers and garden hoses Friday evening in Maple Ridge after its spread to a townhouse.
The explosion happened around 8 p.m. while a man was removing the air conditioner from a pickup truck parked in the driveway of a townhouse at 22977 – 116th Ave.
Fire chief Dane Spence said a fireball came through a window.
“The sprinkler system went off inside and kept the fire to the outside of the residence,” said Spence.
Neighbours used garden hoses and fire extinguishers to put out the fire from the outside. The flames melted vinyl siding on the home.
“They managed to knock it down,” added Spence.
No one was injured in the fire.