Fire crews battling 2 morning fires in North Vancouver
Lonsdale #Lonsdale
Fire crews are fighting two separate fires in North Vancouver on Tuesday morning, with one of them engulfing an entire building near Lonsdale Avenue and 12th Street, according to a witness.
Sgt. Peter DeVries with the North Vancouver RCMP could not confirm the exact addresses where the fires are occurring but said one is in the Lonsdale area and the other is in the Lynn Valley area.
Terri Bubas, who could see the flames in Lonsdale from two blocks away, says the fire started before 7 a.m. PT and at least five fire trucks were responding.
“Lots of flames and the brickwork has collapsed and the top of the building,” she said. “It’s quite a scene of devastation actually.”
Bubas also saw police cars and ambulances on scene.
The city block where the Lonsdale fire had started includes a fitness centre, a juice restaurant, office space and a Masonic temple.
A second Masonic lodge appears to be the site of the other fire, in Lynn Valley.
Hannah Sluis, a barista at Waves Coffee on Mountain Highway, says she saw flames engulfing the Lynn Valley Lodge as she drove to work.
“As I got to work the whole sky was filled with smoke. I just did my best to keep it out of the store.”
Sluis says she saw at least eight firefighters on scene and says the road was blocked off.
More to come.