One dead, another injured in east Vancouver apartment fire

One person died and another was injured during a two-alarm fire Monday night at an east Vancouver apartment complex.

The fire was reported at 8:37 p.m. in the D building at the Alder Creek Apartments, 11614 N.E. 49th St., in the North Image neighborhood. Eight engines, three ladder trucks and other firefighting units were dispatched to the fire.

The first firefighters to arrive used ladders to reach two residents who were trapped on their apartment balconies, according to Vancouver Fire spokesman Bryan Fredrickson.

Firefighters were able to knock down the initial fire in about 20 minutes but radioed that it had extended into a common attic, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. Sixteen apartments are in the D building, which has two stories.

Fredrickson said that once firefighters were able to go into the building, they found one person inside.

The Red Cross responded to assist the residents of the building who were displaced.

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire, with help from the Vancouver Police Department. The cause has yet to be determined, according to police spokesperson Kim Kapp.

Firefighters were on scene until about 2:30 a.m.

Editor Craig Brown contributed to this report.