Fire erupts at A&W restaurant in Burnaby

An A&W restaurant in Burnaby, B.C., burned on Monday as crews were forced to attack the blaze from outside.

Emergency crews were called to a fast-food restaurant in Burnaby after a fire erupted Monday afternoon.

Video obtained by CTV News shows a plume of smoke billowing from the A&W on Kingsway near Gilley Street as firefighters work to extinguish the blaze. Another recording taken inside the restaurant showed flames coming through a ceiling panel.

The Burnaby Fire Department was called to the restaurant just after 3 p.m., and Asst. Chief Eric Masaro says crews weren’t inside for long before the ceiling became an issue.

“We started an offensive attack, ceiling started coming down, so we pulled crews out and went to a defensive,” he explained. “If a fire does get up into the ceiling, it poses a big job to be able to get to it.”

Masaro says nine trucks and a total of 32 firefighters continued attacking the blaze from outside, primarily “lobbing water” and waiting for the roof to collapse so crews could attack the rest of the building

The building is likely coming down, according to Masaro, who adds that a crew will stick around for some time to ensure nothing else is burning.

B.C. Emergency Health Services say an ambulance and paramedics were called to the fire “on standby basis,” and Masaro confirms no firefighters, A&W employees, or restaurant patrons were injured.

A cause for the fire has yet to be determined.