Officials with the city of Vancouver said everyone displaced by a west side fire earlier this week should be able to return to their homes as of Saturday evening, except for residents of two properties that were “completely gutted.”
The fire broke out at a six-storey building in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood late Tuesday and spread to several nearby houses, damaging nine homes and causing a crane across the street to collapse.
Chief building official Saul Schwebs told a press conference on Saturday that the cause of the fire at the Dunbar site is under investigation and the next step will be to remove the crane, which will take about two weeks.
Schwebs said the crane removal work will be a “complex operation,” which involves the contractor, WorkSafeBC, and property owners who need some time to put a plan together.
Schwebs said city staff are doing a very limited demolition at West 41st Avenue and Collingwood Street by removing potential hazards from the building, and the site will be safe as of the end of Saturday.
Schwebs said two houses that were gutted by the fire are “total losses.”
Miranda Myles with the Vancouver Emergency Management Agency said about 10 to 11 people remain displaced and they will continue to receive emergency support services as needed.
Myles said as the city continues with the restoration efforts, the road closure in the fire area will remain in place for several weeks.
Some residents had been evacuated from the area earlier this week, Myles said Crofton House School and Coast Mountain bus company had been providing safe spaces for those evacuated to gather and get connected with volunteers on Tuesday night.
Myles said she had seen “plenty of lovely examples” of people in the neighbourhood reaching out to support each other over the past week.
“I want to just acknowledge that and thank those folks who are reaching out to connect with their neighbours and their community,” said Myles.
Brad Hesse, assistant chief with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, said Tuesday night came as “unprecedented” for many firefighters with 13 fires started by embers which were the size of soccer balls flying around the neighbourhood.
Hesse said his department got so busy that they had no apparatus to send out at one point and they had to make “major operational adjustments.”
Meanwhile, Hesse also recognizes the massive fire has left impacts on the community.
“I think I’d like to start with by acknowledging the impact this has had on this community and the residents within it, not only from the night when it was happening and the fear and the uncertainties everybody must have been feeling,” said Hesse, “for many people, this will have ongoing effects for quite some time.”
The city is asking drivers to re-reroute around the area, since road closures remain in place between West 41st Avenue and Collingwood Street.
The Canadian Press
