3 major blazes keep overnight fire crews busy in Vancouver

Firefighters in Vancouver were kept busy Friday night and early Saturday morning, battlingthree separate blazes across the city.

Crews attended two fires in East Vancouver one on 6th Avenue and one on Lakewood Drive and another in the Dunbar area.

"Our members worked hard," said John Zacharuk, assistant chief of operations with VancouverFire and Rescue Services. "Some went from one fire to another."

"We were stretched at times, for sure."

Zacharuk said no one was hurt in any of the fires, and thecauses of the blazes have not been determined.

The first fire happened on the 3600 block of West 24th Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. Zacharuk said it started on the rear balcony of the house.

The second fireoccurredon the 3200 block of East 6th Avenue, just after midnight. Zacharuk said the house was slated for demolition, and had been stripped of drywall and windows.

Zachurak said an adjacent house was in the framing stages of construction, which also caught fire. He said thatfire is being treated as suspicious.

The final fire broke out in the basement of a house on the 3500 block of Lakewood Drive. When crews arrived shortly after 2 a.m., Zacharuk said the house was fully engulfed.

"The initial house has pretty much been gutted," he said.

Zacharuk said there was one person home at the time.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services is still investigating all three fires.