Winters Hotel: Vancouver Fire told person possibly inside before demolition, police say

There are mounting questions around the response from officials after two bodies were discovered inside the Winters Hotel in Gastown after a destructive fire. According to Vancouver police, they had advised fire officials of the possibility someone was inside the building just a day before demolition began last week.

One of the victims has been identified as Mary Ann Garlow, who lived at the single room occupancy hotel, which comprised the upper floors of the building. The identity of the second person, as well as the cause of deaths, have not been revealed.

The bodies were found while crews were demolishing the heavily damaged building, which caught fire in the morning hours of April 11. Vancouver police say on the day of the fire, investigators were initially given a list of people who had not been accounted for.

“Our Major Crime Section was prepared to assist with the investigation of anybody who was unaccounted for. However, we were told later that day, the day of the fire, that all persons had been accounted for and that was later confirmed by BC Housing and Atira,” explained Sgt. Steve Addison with the VPD.

Addison says on April 15, a Winters Hotel staff member advised that a number of people were still missing.

“Those people, we were told, were not in any temporary shelters that had been set up and their exact whereabouts were unknown so the Vancouver Police Department continued to investigate — not only for those people who were unaccounted for but for anybody else who may have been in the building who was unaccounted for,” he added.

In the case of Garlow, Addison says the VPD was notified by a provincial agency that she was staying in a shelter. Days later, it was confirmed that she had not, despite reports, been located.

“On April 19, we received more information from the housing coordinator at the Winters Hotel who confirmed to us that Mary had not been located. We continued our investigation. Through the course of our investigation … we received important information and that important information suggested that there was a likelihood that Mary might still be in that building,” Addison explained.

The VPD says it immediately relayed that information to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, which was overseeing the demolition.

“We advised Vancouver Fire that there was possibly a victim in that building. That information was relayed on April 20,” Addison said.

Crews began tearing the building down on April 21. The two bodies, including Garlow’s, were found during demolition the next day.

Related articles: 

• Second body found during demolition of Winters Hotel in Gastown

• Sprinklers turned off at Winters Hotel days before devastating fire: investigation

• Demolition begins of Winters Hotel in Gastown following delays

CityNews has reached out to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) for comment. It has directed our inquiries to the City of Vancouver which issued a statement on behalf of VFRS:

“VFRS is currently conducting an investigation into the Winters Hotel fire on April 11. This process will be thorough and include analyzing evidence and speaking to witnesses. The results of the investigation will be released once completed, and a spokesperson will be available to speak at that time.”

The BC Coroners Service has been called in to investigate the deaths. The coroner will also work to confirm the victims’ identities.

Addison says there’s currently no information to suggest other people remain missing.

The City of Vancouver says the demolition is now expected to be finished by Wednesday.

“With a demolition of this size and nature under such a tight deadline it is not uncommon to encounter unexpected challenges that can impact the timeline. The City is continuing to work as quickly and safely as possible to finish this work,” the city said in a statement late Monday afternoon.

“Gastown residents and businesses will be pleased to know, however, that there will be no further power outages.”

Searching from the start

The president and CEO of Atira Property Management, which operated the Winters Hotel, says the information was provided to the VPD as soon as it came in.

“We had been aware that Mary hadn’t been seen for some time. Atira filed a missing person report on April 12. We filed again on April 15 and raised the fact that we hadn’t seen her in our daily meetings with various agencies involved. Mary’s brother is a long-term employee of Atira so he was reporting to us and he was surprised that he hadn’t seen her and that he had fairly regular contact with her. So then when he still hadn’t seen her on the 21 of April, his manager called me and I called VPD,” Janice Abbott told CityNews Monday.

Abbott says people were looking for Garlow from the start.

“I believe folks had reported that they had seen her and I think there was some erroneous information from one of the ministries — at least, that’s what’s been shared with me. But we were regularly reporting that she hadn’t been seen and that we were worried about her,” she added.

Little is known about the second person, a man believed to be in his 20s, whose remains were found in the building during the demolition process.

Abbott says it was not uncommon for people who don’t live at the Winters Hotel to enter the building. She tells CityNews she wants officials to ensure no other bodies are inside the building before crews continue with the demolition.

“It’s hard for everybody and we’re working hard to keep those most affected at the forefront,” Abbott said, adding services are being provided to those in need. “It’s a lot for folks to take it. But, again, it’s important to focus on the people most impacted.

Honouring Mary Anne Garlow

Calls from the community are now asking what happened to the communication in the days following the fire.

Misty Fredericks, who says she is Garlow’s niece, says a ceremony to remember the woman is being held on Friday, April 29, at the Winters Hotel. She is inviting members of the Indigenous community to wear ribbon skirts if they are able.

She writes in a social media post that Garlow spent her life working and caring for the Downtown Eastside community.

“We are looking for people to come drum, sing, pray and put down medicine for Mary Ann’s life & the next part of her journey,” her post reads, in part.

Fredericks is among those calling for answers into how the tragedy occurred and what happened with the communication following the fire.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services has previously said though crews usually do two searches for occupants in a fire, firefighters were never able to fully clear the building after this blaze.

VFRS said the “fire was too extensive,” adding the situation was “deemed too dangerous to allow firefighters into areas on floor two (where the fire originated) and above, which means an “all clear” was not determined.”

On Thursday, Vancouver fire officials said a preliminary investigation had found the sprinklers were turned off in the building because of a separate fire just days prior.

A Notice of Violation was issued after the April 8 fire, with orders “to have the fire life safety systems to be serviced.”

“This notice requires a fire watch be put in place until the fire life safety system is back in operations. The notice of violation is a standard process when a sprinkler is activated,” Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said in a release.

By April 11, the system had not yet been fixed. VFRS said a preliminary investigation found unattended candles were the likely cause of the latest blaze.

Dozens of people were forced out of the building when flames erupted. Five people were taken to the hospital and fire crews say five residents were rescued.

Demolition of the building began Thursday after some delays.

-With files from Randene Neill and Michael Williams