Five people were sent to hospital Monday (April 11) after a fire tore through a more than hundred-year-old building in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood.
The blaze broke out around 11 a.m., with posts on social media showing smoke billowing out of the old Winters Hotel building at the corner of Abbott and Water streets, and rising over the city skyline.
Numerous people had to be pulled from the fire, according to tweets from Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry, and around 70 people were displaced, according to public safety minister Mike Farnworth.
Five people were taken to hospital, three of them considered stable and two in serious condition. Numerous other people were treated at the scene, according to B.C. Emergency Health Services.
Firefighters just rescued an occupant from the 2nd floor.
13 firefighting apparatus on scene. pic.twitter.com/Pqsq1d2ogS
— Karen Fry (@Karen_Fry) April 11, 2022
Nearby residents were also affected, with more than 500 customers left without power and many others breathing in smoke.
The area remains closed off Tuesday morning as investigators assess the scene.
@janeskrypnek
jane.skrypnek@bpdigital.ca
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