Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Four injured in Vancouver fire out of hospital

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Apr, 2022 01:29 PM
  • Four injured in Vancouver fire out of hospital

VANCOUVER - A building that was reduced to a shell by a fire in Vancouver's Gastown neighbourhood will likely be demolished, while the number of residents displaced by the blaze has risen to 144, officials said Tuesday.

In addition to 71 residents who lost their homes at the Winters Hotel, another 73 people who lived in the neighbouring Gastown Hotel were also evacuated due to toxic smoke damage and its location in the collapse zone of the charred structure, officials from the city's fire department and BC Housing said during a news conference.

Both hotels are rooming houses and are known as single-room occupancy buildings, or SROs, housing some of the city's lowest-income residents.

"Any time you lose 140, 150 rooms, it's devastating. We obviously have a shortage of housing throughout the Lower Mainland," said Dale McMann, the vice-president of operations for BC Housing.

"We're hopeful we can have the residents of the Gastown back before too long, but that's really not our call."

Mayor Kennedy Stewart said the city is working closely with BC Housing and local social service agencies to find emergency shelters for those affected, while McMann said they hope to start getting people into permanent homes in days.

Atira Property Management, the non-profit that oversees the Winters Hotel, has set up a centre in the neighbourhood to help direct supports, Stewart said.

Flames broke out in the 110-year-old building before noon on Monday and the fire department said the roof of the four-storey brick structure had collapsed within hours. Twelve hours after 60 firefighters began fighting the blaze, the last hot spot was extinguished, fire Chief Karen Fry said.

Five people were treated in hospital, including one who Fry said had jumped from an upper-floor window.

On Tuesday, Fry said two remained in hospital in stable condition, while Atira's CEO Janice Abbott said all but one had been released.

Abbott said an email it's believed all the residents escaped the fire, but efforts were underway to locate one tenant who is thought to be staying elsewhere.

Shops, restaurants and businesses were also heavily damaged below the 89-room Winters Hotel on the building's upper floors. In addition to the six businesses in the damaged building, another seven businesses are affected by the closure of the collapse zone on Abbott Street, Stewart said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is in its infancy, Fry said, but early evidence suggests it began on the second residential floor.

On Monday, Fry said the building was recently inspected and had a working sprinkler system, but Abbott said she understands the system was waiting to be reset after a small fire in the building last Friday.

"A call was made to reset the system Saturday morning," Abbott said in the email, adding it was the best information available to her, but the situation remained "dynamic."

The last full inspection of the building occurred in September and an additional order was issued after Friday's fire as per protocol, Fry said, but she could not provide details of what was in the order.

Fry did not have information about whether the smoke or fire alarms sounded, she said.

"This building houses some of our most precious residents in our city and the impact on them is going to be very traumatic. We're aware of that and our hearts go out to all of those impacted, not only the residents, but to the businesses," Fry said.

Abbott said the response has been "overwhelming" after an appeal was made for donations of socks, underwear, bedding and other necessities because the tenants lost everything.

Photo courtesy of Chief Karen Fry-Twitter. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit
Be advised that 120 Street Northbound between 88 Avenue and 90 Avenue is closed to all traffic while officers investigate the cause of the collision.  The closure will remain in effect for an undetermined amount of time. 

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine
Vice-chief of the defence staff Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen told the House of Commons defence committee on Wednesday that the order came from Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff and it applies to both full-time service members and part-time reservists.

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed the new pledge at the end of an extraordinary meeting in Brussels, where leaders from across the alliance had gathered for the second time in a month to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.
A statement from the ministry says it has begun the process to select contractors to design and complete the repairs at three of the seven damaged bridges along the Coquihalla Highway.    

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor
Health Minister Adrian Dix told a recent news conference that 99.8 per cent of patients whose surgery was postponed in the first wave of the pandemic have had it, and that's the case for 94.2 per cent of those who did not get their procedure in the second and third waves.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 258 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, and 49 are in intensive care. In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,975.

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday