Surrey family escapes house fire

A Surrey, B.C., family was forced out of their home by a massive fire that broke out early Thursday morning.

Sonny Ghandi, a resident of the neighbourhood, was just coming back from work when he saw the fire tearing through the roof of the house.

"I was pulling up to the street ... the house was just fully engulfed," said Ghandi. "It's scary. The worst thing that can happen to someone is losing the house to a fire."

Fire crews immediately started attacking the fire after arriving on scene around 4:00 a.m.

The flames were already tearing through the roof, and the crew quickly called  for more firefighters to battle the massive blaze.

"They did good. There was quite a bit of flame from the house impinging on the two exposures, and we managed to stop that at that time," said Batt. Chief Richard Ellis.

At least five people escaped the house fire unharmed. For several hours a sixth person, who was living in one of the basement suites, was unaccounted for, but fire officials have confirmed everyone is now safe.

Smoke and debris from the fire also caused some exterior damage to two adjacent houses, which were evacuated safely.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, but Ellis believes it may have started in one of the basement suites in the house.