Resident injured trying to rescue pets from North Vancouver house fire

A resident was injured while trying to rescue family pets from a major house fire in North Vancouver on Sunday morning, fire officials say.

District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services was called to a century-old home on East Osborne Road at about 5:30 a.m. Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Stewart said the first crew found the primary residence fully engulfed.

The blaze spread to a neighbouring home on the east side of the original building. Stewart said heat and direct flame exposure ignited the adjacent residence, with fire entering through a first-floor kitchen window and an upper-floor bathroom window before spreading through the attic and parts of the roof.

All occupants escaped the homes. The injured resident was taken to hospital for treatment, and several people have been displaced, though the number is not yet clear.

One resident who did not want to be identified said there were only moments to get out and they left with only the clothes they were wearing. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.