Raging Maple Ridge fire battled with garden hoses, alert teen
Neighbours desperately attempted to keep flames from spreading to other trailers
Five people are temporarily homeless after a fire destroyed one unit in a Maple Ridge trailer park and spread to two others, early Sunday morning.
The flames broke out a little before 3 a.m. PT at the Maple Ridge Motel and Trailer Court in the 21600-block of Lougheed Highway.
- VIDEO: Maple Ridge fire dramatic 3rd floor rescue 'close call,' says chief
- Maple Ridge fire blamed on arsonist
- Southcoast Reman lumber mill in Maple Ridge catches fire
18-year-old high school student Ryan Crawford realized something was wrong when he heard noise outside his trailer.
"I just heard people yelling, '911!' So I got out, just put on slippers. I saw flames about 30 feet up in the air," said Crawford, who then ran over to the burning unit. "I tried booting in the door, and I couldn't see anybody."
Alert teen warned others
"I got the guy next door out. He had an oxygen tank, so I got him out fine," said Crawford, as he stood in the rain, dripping wet in a T-shirt and sandals.
Other neighbours grabbed garden hoses and fire extinguishers in a desperate attempt to keep their homes from burning down before firefighters arrived.
Kaylee Cranton credited Crawford for waking her and several other neighbours up, as the flames spread to other trailers.
Running door to door, freaking out
"Oh I was yelling, yeah. I was running door-to-door, freaking out," confirmed Crawford.
When Cranton got safely outside, she was astonished to see how big the flames had become.
"They were coming out all the windows, all the doors, the place was just torched," said Cranton. "I'm surprised the firemen were actually able to stop the fire from spreading as much as it did. So, they did a really good job tonight."
Maple Ridge Deputy Fire Chief Howard Exner said six fire trucks and about 36 firefighters were called to the trailer court.
"The trailers really aren't built very well. They really don't stand up to fire very well, so fire moves through trailers very quickly. So the spread between the trailer of origin and the other trailers close by was a problem for us to get a handle on right at the beginning," he said.
Kittens remain missing
Exner said there was nothing to initially suggest that the fire was suspicious, but the cause hadn't yet been investigated Sunday morning.
A resident of the trailer where the fire started said he escaped the flames unharmed, but his two kittens, Esquito and Lela were missing.
"I heard that there might be some kittens. We haven't had an opportunity to go inside the trailer yet, and that's probably where we'll find them," said the Deputy Fire Chief, fearing the worst.
