Man rescued from hoarder house fire in Burnaby

A man is in hospital with burns after being rescued from a two-alarm house fire in Burnabyearly Friday morning.

Crews were called to the home in the 6100-block of SumasStreet just after 2 a.m. Whenthey arrived, they foundthe house fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters had to rush in andbrave the heat torescue the occupant of the building, an elderly man.

"He collapsed in the doorway ... which is where our crews found him, with fire coming out of the doorway," said Assistant Chief John Titley with Burnaby Fire.

The man was taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns. Some of the firefighters who rushed to help the man also suffered some injuries.

"They took some heat in the doorway, but their injuries are very minor," saidTitley.

Challenging search

Titley said the building was a hoarder house with a large amount of debris inside, creating challenges for his crews fighting the fire.

"It was ... quite messy inside for crews to perform a proper search," he said.

The fire caused extensive damage to the entire house, rendering it uninhabitable, Titleyadded.

Investigators will be at the scene later today to try and figure out what sparked the fire.