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Fire at Langley church may be caused by homeless person

Township firefighters were quick to douse blaze at King Roman Catholic Church
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A homeless person living under the stairs of a Langley church is the likely cause of a fire at the Christ the King Roman Catholic Church early Wednesday morning.

Fire crews responded to reports of the old church being on fire around 5 a.m.

A quick response by Hall 6 saved the building which had quite a bit of fire and smoke when they arrived. Early indications are that a homeless person was sleeping under the church’s staircase, said Township deputy fire chief Bruce Ferguson.

The church has had issues with homeless sleeping there before. However, when fire crews arrived, no one was there but there were physical signs of someone living under the stairs, said Ferguson.

Five fire units showed up to the church located at 22630 48 Avenue. Luckily, damage was contained to the outside at the staircase.

Firefighters had to break a window to gain access to the inside of the church but the fire had not extended to the interior of the building, said Ferguson.

Video courtesy of Jenn Seabrook-Heffernan

https://www.facebook.com/Seabrook78/videos/10154465205781829/

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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