Five people taken to hospital from fire in Vancouver’s Gastown

Update April 12: Fire officials say the building is so damaged, it needs to be torn down. A total of 144 people have been displaced from the Winters Hotel and the Gastown Hotel

A large fourth alarm fire at the Winters Hotel in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood has displaced many residents and sent five people to hospital.

Sixty firefighters remain on the scene and are expected to stay overnight. Officials are also advising surrounding businesses and residents to keep windows and doors closed to reduce smoke exposure.

Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry says several people were rescued from the top floor of the building.

“One was transported to hospital. From what I understand, he jumped out of a window. Several others were rescued from the top floors by our firefighters on scene,” she said, adding about 70 firefighters and 20 trucks were sent to the scene.

The fire is believed to have started at around 11 a.m. Monday in one of the second-floor residential suites, which are above the Flying Pig restaurant.

“We don’t know if there’s anybody in the building, and we probably won’t know that until we get the fire out,” Fry added.

Nicole’s suite was one of the units affected by the fire.

“It was a back room in a back corner,” she told CityNews.

“I was in my room and I could smell smoke, heavy smoke. I opened my door to investigate and big cloud of smoke came at my face. The first thing I did was I yelled, ‘Fire!’ really loud. I made sure everybody knew.”

Nicole was was able to get her two pets out to safety, but is concerned other pets may be trapped inside.

According to her, at least two people escaped the building by climbing down a ladder. Nicole also reports some residents tried to put out the fire, but gave up when they realized the flames were spreading too quickly.

Video shared on social media hours later shows the roof had collapsed and water was being directed into what was left of the building.

The fire chief says the businesses on the bottom floor will be affected by this fire.

“A lot of residents that are going to need somewhere else to stay in the coming days,” Fry added.

Several videos show thick smoke rising from a building in the area of Abbott and Water streets. Smoke could be seen in the surrounding cities, according to callers to CityNews.

Vancouver police are asking people to stay clear of the area as crews work to douse the flames. People in the downtown area are asked to keep their windows closed to avoid “toxic smoke.”

“Please try and stay away from the smoke. It’s not good for you to be breathing in,” Fry said.

“Try and remove yourself. Wear a mask, if you are outside and in the elements. Close your windows if you’re in the downtown area.”

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It’s still unclear at this point what may have caused the fire.

The Winters Hotel is operated by Atira Women’s Resource Society. A representative told CityNews they are setting up an emergency triage for tenants.

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