Winters Hotel in Gastown demolition completed

The City of Vancouver has completed the demolition of the Winters Hotel in Gastown after it was ravaged by a fire two weeks ago.

As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the demolition of the building has been completed and the city says work is underway to clean up the surrounding area in order to reopen Water Street.

“This was a complex and challenging undertaking involving a fire-damaged structure that shared a wall with a neighbouring building, an area power outage, site security and significant road closures,” the city wrote in a release.

Two bodies found in Winters Hotel in Vancouver Gastown

A dead body was found in the wreckage of the burnt down Winters Hotel in Gastown on Wednesday morning. And as Kier Junos reports -- another body was found hours later.

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Related stories:

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

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

• Second body found during demolition of Winters Hotel in Gastown

Some of the sidewalk and curb lane may remains closed around the 203 Abbott Street location, but the city says they are working to clear the way so businesses and visitors can continue to use the area again.

According to the city, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) is conducting the investigation into the Winters Hotel fire which broke out 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.”

Although the demolition was supposed to be complete days ago, the discovery of two bodies postponed the work.

VFRS has said though crews usually do two searches for occupants in a fire, crews were never able to fully clear the building after this blaze.

There are still questions surrounding the response from officials following the fire and the discovery of the two victims.

VFRS says its early probe points to unattended candles as the cause of the fire, and say it started in a second floor unit and is being deemed accidental.

According to VFRS, which notes the sprinkler system had been turned off by firefighters after a blaze just days before, on April 8, set it off.

(CityNews Image)

(CityNews Image)

(CityNews image)

(CityNews Image)