A woman suffered significant burns to her hands and arms as a result of a fire in east Vancouver in the Cascade Highlands neighborhood, Monday afternoon.
Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Pete Adams said firefighters were first called to a report of a burn victim in need of help at Southeast 136th Avenue and Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard.
A friend had driven her there after a kitchen fire at her house, Adams said.
She had bad burns to her hands and arms, he said, and was taken to a hospital. After she was tended to, the firefighters decided it might be a good idea to check out the woman’s home to make sure the fire was out.
While they were walked around the woman’s two-story triplex, 903 S.E. 152nd Ave., one of the firefighters looked up and saw flames coming from attic vents, Adams said.
They began fighting the fire from the outside and called for more help at around 2:40 p.m.
More firefighters, including firefighters from Camas, arrived to assist and entered the building. They climbed to the second floor, attacked the flames from underneath and were able to bring the fire under control, Adams said
It took 20 firefighters about 30 minutes to tame the fire, he said, and another two or so hours to mop up.
The fire heavily damaged two of the building’s three units, leaving them uninhabitable, he said.
The Red Cross said the fire displaced eight adults, six children and two pets.
The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the fire.
