A Thursday night fire did serious damage to Evergreen Memorial Garden Cemetery and Funeral Chapel in east Vancouver, though there were no injuries.
The crematorium caught fire about 8:40 p.m. According to the Vancouver Fire Department, firefighters arrived to the funeral home at 1101 N.E. 112th Ave., about 8:45 p.m. to find flames shooting through the roof.
“Crews were able to quickly get water on the fire,” the fire department said in a statement. Barely 10 minutes later when they went to enter the building, the roof was starting to collapse and everyone was pulled from the building.
The incident commander switched to a defensive strategy. Firefighters were able to gain control of the fire from the exterior using elevated streams from the ladder truck.
Fire personnel were on scene until after 2 a.m. Friday, more than 5 hours.