Former tenants relieved Mount Pleasant apartment building to be destroyed after most recent fire

Former tenants of a Mount Pleasant apartment building are speaking out after the structure caught fire Tuesday, nearly one year after another massive blaze displaced over 70 residents from the same building. 

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services told 1130 NewsRadio that Tuesday’s fire was the third time that flames had broken out in the low-rise building at 414 East 10th Avenue, near Guelph Street.

In July of 2023, a massive fire erupted after it was determined was caused by candles, noting it was accidental.

Assistant Fire Chief Keith Stewart said there were no injuries during Tuesday’s blaze. While no one was discovered inside, Stewart suspects the fire was caused by a person who had been in the already burned building.

“Nobody’s supposed to be in there, but we had reports that people were living out of there, but those are all unconfirmed reports,” said Stewart.

Last year, residents said their possessions were burned, smoke damaged, and later looted before they were able to collect what they could from the remnants of the initial fire.

One former resident, Taylor Calhoun, told 1130 NewsRadio Wednesday that the building should have been destroyed after the first fire. Instead, she says her and other residents’ belongings were there as fuel for future fires.

“Everybody had to leave their furniture. No one was allowed to take furniture with them — so couches, beds, things like that. We had very limited time to go in, so people still had a lot of their lives in there where they couldn’t take it. So, there was still a lot of stuff in that building. And again, the whole structure, which is made almost entirely of wood, I believe, caused it to be as bad as it was,” said Calhoun.

She says the City of Vancouver and the landlord of the building have neglected their responsibility to protect residents of the building and the neighbourhood.

“There was no precautions taken for anybody’s safety: surrounding neighbours, the people who are perhaps living in the building. Again, that’s not confirmed, but speaking with Fire Rescue yesterday, they believe that the fire did start from inside, from squatters, and so the safety of people who could potentially be sneaking in there to live — it’s just blatant disregard for everybody.”

Calhoun says she and other former tenants have protested the city to investigate the landlords and the conditions that led to the initial fire. 

The landlords of 414 East 10th Avenue, Fu De Ren, also known as Henry Ren, and his wife, Fang Yan, have a record of multiple fire safety violations at buildings they own, including a 2009 fire in Burnaby that left one woman dead.

“Thankfully, this one, nobody was hurt. But you know, it feels like the city’s really protecting him. They’re not doing anything. He had over 20 fire code violations that nothing was done. The city knew the state of the building, but I recently was just pushed to the side because they wanted that building and that land for development and nothing is being done,” she said.

She claims Ren never offered a response to his former East 10th Avenue tenants.

“Most of us haven’t even gotten our damage deposits back. We didn’t get any of our rent back for the days that we were displaced out of the unit because it happened near the end of the month. We just really want some justice and some accountability to be placed on the landlord, because he has a track record of this and nothing’s happening.”

Calhoun says she still lives in the area and when she saw the flames Tuesday, she was reminded of her displacement all over again. She says she and other residents are in “constant communication,” and the latest fire might be the push they need to reorganize to seek justice.

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“You know, seeing it happen again and again and just having all of those feelings brought up has been very hard for all of us. So I just am hoping that they really order the owner to demolish it, and something gets done because he will continue tricking the system and finding loopholes and running away from any responsibility for this,” said Calhoun.

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to Ren for comment. 

In a statement Wednesday, VFRS said that the city’s Chief Building Official has ordered that the building be demolished, “given the condition of the structure.” It says it expects that work to be done as soon as possible. 

Another former resident, David Knutsen, tells 1130 NewsRadio that he has “mixed emotions” about the building he lived in for 21 years being destroyed, but he says the news comes as “a cleansing.”

“Well, I think that the owner of the property should be held accountable for this, and I think he should pay for it. You know, every last penny,” said Knutsen. 

“I heard this morning they’re finally going to demolish the place. And well, personally, good riddance.”

—With files from Charlie Carey, Monika Gul, and Catherine Garret.