45 firefighters battle suspicious Maple Ridge blaze

45 firefighters battle suspicious Maple Ridge fire The residents of the home were out of town, and no one was injured in the blaze.

Officials are investigating a suspicious two-alarm fire in Maple Ridge that started around 8:30 on Sunday night.

When crews arrived the blaze was already tearing through all three floors of the home, located on River Road near Best Street.

About 45 firefighters on nine trucks battled the blaze, and stopped it from spreading to a home next door. The residents of the house were out of town.

Crews told CTV News it was a challenging fight because the fire had spread to the attic and roof.

“It was mostly a defensive attack, based on the amount of fire that was in the building,” said Mark Smitton, assistant fire chief. “Anytime [the fire] gets up into the roof it’s always a lot harder, just getting access to it.”

Resident Lorne Huculak saw smoke billowing out of the home, and ran inside to save some of his neighbours’ possessions.

“I would hope someone would do it for us at well, but I would feel awful if I didn’t do something – it’s just the way I was brought up,” he said, noting that the damage to the home was extensive.

"Me the three other guys were there and we started grabbing the propane and the gas, and he had a race car that we pulled out. By then it was too much for anybody else to go inside."

An investigation is ongoing.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Sheila Scott