Two elderly women in hospital after separate Vancouver home fires

VANCOUVER – Two elderly women are in hospital, one with minor burns and the other suffering from smoke inhalation, after separate fires in Vancouver on Saturday.

Vancouver fire's Assistant Chief of Operations Kevin Wilson says crews were called just after 2:30 a.m. to a three-storey apartment complex in the Fairview neighbourhood.

He says firefighters found an 80-year-old woman with first-degree burns to her face, neck, back and arms, and she was rushed to hospital where she's expected to recover.

He says the building is old and lacks sprinklers, and crews have not located a working smoke alarm in her unit, which the fire extensively damaged but didn't spread to other apartments in the complex.

Wilson says just after 10:30 a.m. firefighters responded to a house fire in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood and an elderly woman with smoke inhalation was taken to hospital.

He says the fire started in the kitchen before spreading through the walls and ceiling, and clutter in the home made it difficult for crews to gain access.