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destroys stores

A STUBBORN blaze destroyed several stores located
beside each other on the west side of the 1500-block
Lonsdale Avenue Tuesday morning.

By MICHAEL BECKER
News Reporter

North Vancouver City Fire
Department firefighters arrived
at the scene just after 8 a.m.

Although a steady stream of
water was poured into the
smoke-filled biock of
businesses, flames were still to
be seen at 9:30 a.m.

Firefighters had cleared away
a T-bar ceiling made of ceiling
tiles mounted on tracks, but the
fire spread rapidly between a
solid gyproc ceiling and the

roof of the building housing the
stores. The fire was subdued by
10:30 a.m.

Destroyed by the fire were
Ultra Sight Lonsdale Optical
Lid., Sachi’s Coiffures Ltd.,
Lucy’s Place, and Magic Fash-
ions.

‘The balance of the businesses

located on the west side of the_
block received smoke damage.

The stores were unoccupied
at the time of the fire. North
Vancouver unit Provincial Am-
bulance Service altendants
{reated several firefighters who
suffered foot lacerations after
stepping on broken plate glass.

A fire department spokesman
said although witnesses saw
smoke coming from one of the
stores as early as 7:50 a.m., the
fire department was not alerted
until 8:02 a.m.

Investigators have not deter-
mined the cause of the fire.

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