Three families have been left without a home Sunday (July 28) after an overnight fire burned through their Chilliwack townhouse complex.

The fire department says it was called to the 45000-block of Hodgins Avenue at about 3:30 a.m. for reports of an active fire. When they arrived, firefighters found a one building of a two-building townhouse ablaze with flames and smoke billowing from it.

They quickly upgraded the call to a second alarm fire and brought in 40 firefighters to tackle it. 

The fire department says all the residents of both townhouse buildings got out safely and no one was injured.

One of the buildings suffered serious fire and water damaged, however, and three families living there have been displaced. The fire department said some of it may be salvagable. The second building also sustained some damage but only to its exterior and those tenants have been able to return. 

The fire department expressed concern that at least one of the impacted units didn't have working smoke alarms. It said people should be testing their alarms monthly. 

"We urge all residents to ensure they have working smoke alarms on each level of their home and in each sleeping area, with alarms interconnected so that when one goes off, all levels are alerted to the fire."

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Fire personnel remained on scene until about 7 a.m.

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