Video captures North Vancouver apartment fire balcony rescue

Jul 19 2016, 11:15 pm

A dramatic rescue from an apartment fire in North Vancouver on Monday morning was caught on video. Flames can be seen bursting out of windows and doors and a daring balcony rescue was performed by one of the firefighters.

An elderly woman can be seen being carried down a ladder and was then handed off to crews waiting on a balcony below before the firefighter went back up to rescue her dog.

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Screenshot / YouTube

Crackling can be heard among the radios of the first responders in the video posted to YouTube by BC Fire Trucks.

The blaze took hold of a low-rise building at East 2nd Street and St. Patricks Avenue at around 5 am and knocked power out to more than 130 people in the Lower Lonsdale area. The fire was so large, it could be seen from downtown Vancouver and blanketed the North Shore in a haze of smoke.

While initial reports suggested there were no injuries other than smoke inhalation, North Vancouver fire chief Dan Pistilli confirmed to Daily Hive that a body was discovered upon entering the suite where the fire originated.

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Pistilli says the victim has yet to be identified and that the investigation has been turned over to the North Vancouver RCMP and BC Coroners Service. While the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, Pistilli says investigators will start digging through everything today.

Watch the video of the blaze above. The balcony rescue starts at 3:38.

Lauren SundstromLauren Sundstrom

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