Vancouver police identify victims of deadly Winters Hotel fire

Dennis Guay, a 53-year-old man, and Mary Ann Garlow, a 68-year-old woman, have been identified through DNA as the victims of the deadly fire at the historic building in Vancouver’s Gastown last month, police say.

The devastating fire broke out at the Winters Hotel at Abbott and Water streets last month. Two bodies were found over a week later during demolition.

Despite doing two searches for people in the fire, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) crews were never able to fully clear the building after this blaze.

Guay, who was hearing impaired, hadn’t been seen since the fire on April 11, at least not by the people who work at the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) on the Downtown Eastside. The UGM reported Guay missing to Vancouver police on April 26.

The family has asked for privacy but in a statement about Guay’s passing, they said, “We love him dearly and he will be forever missed.”

According to the family, Guay grew up in Dawson Creek and graduated from BCIT with studies in Geographic Information Mapping, adding many of his colleagues referred to him as a genius.

Guay also studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music, despite his hearing loss.

“He taught himself how to play the guitar. It was, and is, an amazing feat for someone with such severe hearing loss. Playing music truly was his passion,” the family said.

In a statement, Atira, the company that operated the housing at the hotel, told CityNews, “We learned on the news that Dennis had been identified as the second body. Because of the information we were provided and in combination with the time lapse, we remained hopeful Dennis would be located.”

Related articles:

• Winters Hotel resident still missing after deadly Gastown fire

• Second body found during demolition of Winters Hotel in Gastown

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

While officials did not identify the bodies until Wednesday, family of Garlow had previously confirmed she was one of the victims.

Garlow was honoured in late April. Misty Fredericks, who identified herself as Garlow’s niece, wrote in a social media post that Garlow spent her life working and caring for the Downtown Eastside community.

A memorial for Garlow and her three cats was posted outside of the hotel shortly after the devastating fire.

The cause of both deaths has not yet been determined.

A preliminary investigation revealed the building’s sprinkler system had been turned off days before the fire. VFRS said unattended candles were likely to have caused the fire.

The fire has been deemed accidental.

A fire on April 8 set off the sprinklers, which firefighters had turned off. A Notice of Violation was issued, which ordered the sprinklers to be serviced. However, by April 11, the sprinkler system hadn’t been fixed.

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

With files from Denise Wong and Hana Mae Nassar