Surrey firefighters fought a blaze Friday afternoon (April 26) that engulfed a three-storey townhouse in the 12700-block of 66 Avenue in Newton and displaced three families, but nobody was injured.
“We’re very lucky,” said Assistant Chief of Operations Rich Bodnark. “We did have one resident that was treated for minor smoke inhalation, but they were released at the scene.”
“Working smoke detectors alerted this resident to exit the home, and while you know our thoughts are with these families that were displaced from their home, I really do want this to serve as a reminder to all families to check their smoke detectors and ensure that they’re in good working order. This could have been catastrophic if this resident didn’t have that early detection.”
The two-alarm fire, considered “suspicious,” was called in at 12:30 p.m., and 26 firefighters with 10 trucks worked to put it down in about an hour. The cause is being investigated. Firefighters were confronted with heavy smoke and flames coming from the front and back of the middle unit.
“Due to the severity and potential loss of life and property, the alarm level was raised to a second alarm,” Bodnark said. “As a result of early reporting and quick response, the crews were able to mitigate the fire damage to only the one unit by performing an aggressive, offensive fire attack which confined the fire to the unit of origin and protected further exposures to the adjacent units.
“The scene was left with the police,” he said. Other units sustained smoke and water damage.
“Three families were displaced, but mostly out of precaution for the two adjacent units. The one house, though, is unfortunate, it’s untenable.”
Meantime, Amritpal Dhindsa, 22, has been charged with arson, assault with a weapon, uttering threats and possession of a dangerous weapon. He is being held in custody until his next appearance in Surrey provincial court on May 3.
“Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit has conduct of the investigation and will be working with the Surrey Fire Investigator and Surrey RCMP Arson Investigation Unit to determine the circumstances of the fire,” Cpl. James Mason said.
Police ask witnesses or anyone who has CCTV or dash camera footage “while in the area around the time of the fire” to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 and quote file number 2024-58390.