A badge is seen during an unveiling event for the first electric fire truck in Canada at the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Training Centre in Vancouver B.C., on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
A badge is seen during an unveiling event for the first electric fire truck in Canada at the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Training Centre in Vancouver B.C., on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
VANCOUVER - A vacant apartment building in Vancouver is to be torn down after a fire ripped through on Sunday morning.
Acting Asst. Chief Wes Abrams with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says the smoke had been heavy enough to force the evacuation of a nearby building, but it was reaching a level later Sunday that would allow those residents to return home.
Abrams says firefighters had arrived at the vacant building located along East Hastings Street between Glen Drive and Vernon Drive just before 10 a.m. to find flames coming through the windows and starting to burn through part of the roof.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
He says the three-storey building had been boarded up with a fence around it.
Abrams could not provide any information about the cause of the fire, saying it was under investigation.
He says the city’s chief building inspector was at the site and had called for an excavator to “safely bring the building down.”
“There’s already been a partial collapse on the back side, on the alley side of the building, and that is a concern for us at this time,” Abrams said in an interview.
The extent of the fire meant crews were unable to attack the flames from the inside and instead worked to contain the fire from outside the building, he said.
The building at 1172 East Hastings St. was part of a re-zoning application by Westbank Corp.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation