Fire destroys mobile home and barn in South Langley

A mobile home and barn in Langley’s Fernridge neighbourhood were gutted by fire on Tuesday afternoon.

Langley Township firefighters on scene said the call came in at about 2 p.m. on Dec. 28, for what was originally reported as a vehicle on fire.

However, firefighters found a barn and attached mobile home ablaze on a property in the 2100 block of 198th Street.

The homeowner was treated for injuries to his hands suffered while trying to put the fire out in its early stages, said assistant fire chief Andy Hewitson.

“The building is going to be a complete loss,” Hewitson said.

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The firefighters were mostly trying to keep the fire from spreading. They were hosing down nearby trees and a camper that had been scorched by the fire.

There were at least seven Langley Township Fire Department trucks on scene as of 3 p.m., along with at least three RCMP vehicles.

Hewitson said firefighters from three halls had been fighting the fire, along with paid on call firefighters from other halls operating a tanker shuttle to bring in water, since the rural property is not near any fire hydrants.

Because it was still -5 Celsius on Tuesday afternoon, Coast Mountain Bus Company brought in one of their buses, so the firefighters could get warm in between shifts.

“That’s one of our contingency plans for extreme cold weather events,” said Hewitson.

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Police cordoned off 198th St. and an officer was seen taking photos of people exiting the area.

The cause of the fire was unknown, but an investigator was expected to be on the scene later in the afternoon.