Vancouver fire crews douse flames downtown

West Pender Street has reopened after a fire broke out in downtown Vancouver Tuesday morning.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Public Information Officer Matt Trudeau says crews were initially called to the area of West Pender and Richards streets around 6:45 a.m. for reports of a “fire alarm activation.”

He tells CityNews two crews were dispatched. When they arrived at the building, Trudeau says a fire was found in a unit and the call was upgraded.

“We had 14 apparatus on scene. Crews got the fire under control. The concerning part was that it was spreading up into some of the wall areas and to the fourth floor from the third,” he explained, adding crews were able to contain and knock the flames down.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the fire.

Trudeau says the fire itself posed some challenges, given the age of the building and the potential for the rapid spread of flames due to its construction. Then, he adds, while crews were battling the fire, another call came in about a drug overdose across the hall from the affected unit.

“From the initial response of having two crews on scene and now where we’re getting hoses set up, we have all our gear on … and now we’re looking at two incidents at the same time. Crews did a great job of [tending to] the fire and the other emergency at the same time and had more crews coming,” he said.

West Pender was shut between Hamilton and Howe streets as crews battled the flames. It reopened around 8:30 a.m.

-With files from Sonia Aslam