Several residents were rescued from a building in Gastown, where the fire kept Vancouver crews busy Monday morning. Photo: LORA GRINDLAY / PNG / PNG
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The streets of Vancouver’s Gastown neighborhood were blocked by dense, sharp smoke, spectators and first responders as firefighters battled a four-alarm fire in a high-rise brick home Monday morning.
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Around 11:15 a.m., fire and smoke began to billow from the roof of the building on the northwest corner of Abbott Street and Blood Alley. Firefighters poured water on several floors as thick smoke rose high above the building around noon. The smoke changed direction and went down to street level, causing passers-by to wear face masks and others to leave the area as their first correspondents told them they would not want to breathe the toxic smoke. Visibility was reduced to half a square at times as “many passengers” were rescued by Vancouver fire crews. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
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The fire escalated to a fourth alarm flame around noon as more crews were called in and smoke continued to fill the skies around downtown Vancouver. In Vancouver, four firefighters, a rescue worker / a doctor, a battalion leader and at least 19 firefighters were assigned to a first-degree fire. Upgrading a fire to a second, third, or fourth fire alarm allocates additional resources, such as equipment and more firefighters. According to Fire Chief Karen Fry, 13 fire engines were deployed to help fight the blaze shortly after noon. TransLink continued to return many of its buses to the area throughout the day and drivers and pedestrians were advised to avoid the area. Simon Fraser University, meanwhile, announced that all classes scheduled for the Goldcorp Center for the Arts inside the nearby Woodwards building would be canceled for the rest of the day due to smoke, while businesses in the area remained closed to send staff. at home.
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The building, located at 203 and 221 Abbott Streets, is known as Winters Residence, a 95-unit one-room building managed by Atira Property Management. Jeremy Walker lived in the building for seven years, but was out at the drugstore when the fire broke out. He told Postmedia he had no idea where he was going now, but most likely in a shelter. He had not taken any of his belongings. “I can not find my girlfriend,” he said. East Housing’s housing advocate, Fiona York, said she was concerned about displaced tenants who had been separated from their units and belongings. “Where are they going and what space does this leave for other people seeking housing in Vancouver?” He said the 150-year-old SRO housed low-income residents, many of whom were previously homeless.
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“The constant displacement, the uncertainty, the loss of objects and the sense of security – is catastrophic,” York said.
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Nicole Kroeker, another occupant of the building, was outside with a neighbor’s dog, wearing purple socks given to her while watching crews continue to fight the fire. Crocker had left without grabbing anything or putting on her shoes. She and the pit bull were crammed under a blanket given when she spoke to Postmedia. He said he did not know what caused the fire, but said it may have started in a room at the back of the building. I said to my partner, ‘I think I smell smoke.’ “So I opened my door and a large stream of black smoke entered my room,” he said. “The first thing I did was grab my animals and get out of the building. I made sure to shout, “fire” because I realized that the fire alarms did not go out. “I knock on the doors as I leave the building and as soon as I reach the front door, the alarm just goes off.”
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Arliss Renwick, an architect working on a building on Abbott Street, was initially alerted to the fire by the presence of smoke. “There was a lot of smoke from the upper levels and the roof,” said Renwick, who watched the fire outside his office window. “Voices from people were heard before leaving the building.” Renwick said he saw two people in the building being rescued by firefighters through the fourth-floor windows using stairs leaning against the building, before escorting them on stretchers and ambulances waiting below. “Now, a female voice from a loudspeaker just said that all residents count,” Renwick said at 12:30 p.m. Olena Krevenets, a Ukrainian living in Vancouver, said she was shocked to see a fire break out while taking a walk with her husband.
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“It simply came to our notice then. “Two people escaped from the building using the fire brigade stairs and some others accompanied firefighters to climb through a window and go down a ladder,” he told Postmedia. “I am Ukrainian and I have my family there (in Ukraine) now. I watch the news in Ukraine every day and I saw a lot of damage and burned buildings last month. “But I did not expect to see such a huge fire in the city center.” Claire Niebergal, a resident of a building across the street, smelled the fire before seeing the power of its flames. “I work from home. “I thought the smoke might be coming out of the common corridor of our building, but I looked outside and saw it igniting on the opposite side of the road, from the top of the building.” Nybergal said she and other neighbors in her building began evacuating before smoke from a nearby fire triggered their building alarm and stopped elevators. “We were scared. “We went out as fast as we could before the fire alarm in our building could go out and stop the elevators,” he said. “It was already difficult to breathe when we went outside. The smoke was just coming up from our windows. “ More follow. –With files by Sarah Grochowski, Susan Lazaruk, Joe Ruttle, Stephanie Ip
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VANCOUVER, BC: Smoke from a fire in central Vancouver can be seen in these photos taken in Vancouver, BC. on April 11, 2022. Photo: LORA GRINDLAY / PNG / PNG
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#RiderAlert 50 Bypass False Creek / Granville Island. The regular service to Columbia and Hastings and then Hastings, Seymour, Columbia continue their normal service due to fire. ^ ΛΑ – TransLink BC (@TransLink) April 11, 2022
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