The fire broke out on Monday (April 11) morning in a four-story building on the 200 block of Abbott St. The 200 block area includes many businesses such as Bruce Eyewear Inc, Lemongrass House, Nika Design and The Flying Pig. An upstairs (SRO) house called Hotel Winters has been evacuated. Hotel Winters employee Rhonda Bright spoke to Vancouver Is Awesome on stage and said there were three employees in the office when they heard someone shout “fire”. “Because we just had a fire on Friday night, we did not take it seriously,” the staff member added before being instructed not to speak to the media. Vancouver Fire and Rescue (VFRS) chief Karen Fry told VIA at the scene that he had been informed that there was a jumper on one of the top floors of the building who had been taken to hospital with injuries. “We rescued many people from the rooftop building,” he said. “No injuries have been reported by firefighters at this time and two people have been taken to hospital.” A resident who was rescued from the second floor was taken to hospital. Other residents were rescued by smoke inhalation, but the fire chief did not know if they were taken to hospital. Thirteen fire engines and “well over 60 firefighters” are currently at the scene to fight the blaze and are involved in rescue efforts, Fry added. While the flames reached several feet above the construction when the fire broke out, shortly after 12:15 pm they went out.

More than a fire in Gastown. pic.twitter.com/fkFV5pwwoF – Brendan Kergin (@BKergin) April 11, 2022 The VFRS is still trying to determine where the fire started, but Fry believes the fire probably broke out on the third or fourth floor in the residential area of ​​the building and not in the shops below. Nicole, a resident of Hotel Winters, told VIA that a dog and a cat on the third floor did not leave the building. She lives on the third floor and opened her door after smelling smoke. there were no alarms. When she did, a “blast of black smoke” entered her room and she shouted, “Fire!” Nicole managed to get her own pets, a cat and a rat, out of the building safely. “If we had spent more time, I do not know if we would have made it,” he said. Police have cordoned off the area and dozens of locals are watching the scene.