Firefighters tackle two blazes in Vancouver

It was a busy start to the shift for some Vancouver Fire Rescue Services crews Thursday, with two calls back to back.

Vancouver Fire says one person has been taken to the hospital with burns and smoke inhalation after a blaze downtown.

Crews were called to a building along Richards Street near Nelson Street in the early afternoon.

“They arrived on scene and found that they did have some smoke from that affected suite,” Assistant Fire Chief Walter Pereira explained.

“Essentially, the fire was almost out by the time they got in there. Once they did that, they found a male burn victim that they had to take out of there and take outside.”

Pereira notes the person suffered burns to his hands.

He adds there was a lot of water damage left behind in some suites, with an undetermined number of people displaced.

Emergency Social Services has been called in to support the tenants affected.

“The cause of the fire, safe to say at this moment, is under investigation,” Pereira added.

Firefighters were also called to Westbrook Mall at UBC Thursday, where a lab reportedly caught fire.

No injuries were reported in this case, though Pereira says the facility also received water damage.

“It was also a contents fire with crews being able to snuff it out quickly with the aid of a sprinkler system,” he explained. “What they had found was that there was quite a bit of damage due to the sprinkler activation … to sensitive equipment within the lab. It’s quite a high-dollar value.”