Coroner’s inquest to look into deadly Winters Hotel fire in Vancouver

A coroner’s inquest has been ordered into the deaths of two people in a fire at the Winters Hotel in Vancouver’s Gastown.

The devastating fire broke out at the historic building at Abbott and Water streets on April 11. The bodies of 53-year-old Dennis Guay and 68-year-old Mary Ann Garlow were found over a week later during demolition.

“Today, I have directed a coroner’s inquest into these deaths,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced Thursday. “Once the coroner’s investigation has gathered sufficient evidence, an inquest jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath and make findings regarding the facts of the deaths. The jury may also make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.”

“Recommendations from the inquest into the Winters Hotel deaths could help prevent fires in single-room occupancy buildings and save lives,” he added.

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Unattended candles are believed to have been the cause of the fire, which has been deemed accidental.

A preliminary investigation found the sprinkler system at the Winters Hotel had been turned off by firefighters after a blaze just days before, on April 8, set it off.

A Notice of Violation was issued at the time of the first fire, with orders “to have the fire life safety systems to be serviced.”

“This notice requires a fire watch be put in place until the fire life safety system is back in operations. The notice of violation is a standard process when a sprinkler is activated,” VFRS says in a release.

However, by April 11, the sprinkler system had not yet been fixed.

With files from Hana Mae Nassar