White Rock and Surrey Fire crews battle restaurant fire

Fire crews from White Rock and Surrey battled a fire in a vacant restaurant on Marine Drive this morning.

White Rock crews responded to the call from doormen at a nearby bar around 1:40 a.m.

"We saw the flames come from the restaurant," said Nick Czubak, who was working at the Sandpiper Pub across the street on Marine Drive.

"It was pretty big," said doormanStephon Ameerali. "The flames were coming over the building, up to the trees."

Ameerali and Czubak ran to the front and back sides of the building to make sure no one was caught in the fire.

"There were a few people walking back on the tracks," said Ameerali. "I just told them to get clear of the area."

"I saw the back of the building, everything was engulfed."

Fast response

White Rock firefighters were able to knock the fire down quickly,after arriving on scene around 2 a.m.

"It looks like it was a small fire in the rear of the building," said Battalion Chief Andy George ofSurrey Fire Service."We're unsure of what started it."

George would not comment on whether the fire was suspicious or not, but said the investigation has been handed over to the RCMP.