Downtown Eastside fire displaces residents

A fire broke out at a multi-story building at the corner of East Hastings and Columbia Friday evening.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services assistant fire chief Ken Gemmill says the call came in at around 8 p.m. He says flames were coming out of a second-floor window when crews arrived.

“A bit of a tense situation indeed when crews arrived on scene. There was reports of occupants inside the SRO, that housed about 10 to 15 suites upstairs.”

Gemmill says crews went inside the building quickly to ensure there were no occupants on the building’s first and second floors as “the flame and smoke conditions were quite extreme.”

Tents and structures against the building made this challenging to conduct our firefighting operations.

Thanks to @VancouverPD and @BCAmbulance for their assistance.@CityofVancouver @IAFF18 @VanFireRescue https://t.co/6ct5Jncct3

— Karen Fry (@Karen_Fry) April 1, 2023

The fire was knocked down quickly and no tenants sustained any injuries from the smoke or fire.

Fire investigators are still on the scene investigating the cause.

“There will be displaced tenants, of course, probably the whole second floor.”

Gemmill says the stretch from Main Street to Carrall Street is expected to be closed for the next hour or so.