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Elderly man taken to hospital after early morning fire in Langley

Multi-use building on 57A Ave near 198 Street caught fire shortly after 2 a.m.
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Langley City Fire Rescue was on scene in the aera of 57A Avenue and 198th Street to deal with the aftermath of a fire in an industrial building that had apartment units above. (Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance Times)

An elderly man is in hospital after an early morning fire on 57A Ave near 198 St in Langley.

Langley City Fire and Rescue Services said the call came in at approximately 2:15 a.m. on Friday morning from an industrial area of the city.

The building is home to several businesses, with residential housing on the second floor.

Six residents were evacuated from the building, and an elderly man was sent to the hospital.

READ MORE: Langley house fire blocks traffic both ways on 72nd Ave

Deputy Chief Scott Kennedy said the man had some pre-existing health issues.

“Because of the excitement of the situation, it was determined, we should have him taken to the hospital,” he said, adding the man did not sustain any smoke inhalation.

The fire began in a sign shop on the first floor of the building and was quite difficult to fight, Kennedy noted.

“The building was well secured and it was a little bit of a challenge to get in,” he said.

“So the guys hit it from the exterior side first to do some knockdown, and managed to force entry to get inside the building to extinguish the fire.”

The deputy fire chief said there is fairly extensive damage to one or two of the lower floor units but the residential suites are in decent shape.

“Some of the residential units only sustained smoke damage,” he pointed out, noting he does not believe any of them suffered water damage.

Power has been cut to the entire building, so emergency social services has provided the residents with a place to stay in the meantime.

“It is anticipated that most, if not all of them, will be able to get back in there tonight,” Kennedy said. “So that’s the good news part of the story.”

The blaze was battled by fire fighters from the Township of Langley as well as Langley City Fire and Rescue Services.

“The guys worked well together, did a good job, and knocked down what could have been a really stubborn fire,” Kennedy said.



ronan.p.odoherty@blackpress.ca

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