Most recently, an early morning fire on Monday damaged three buildings at the intersection of Powell and Princess streets, including a single occupancy hotel (SRO) and transitional housing, displacing more than 60 vulnerable people. In April, a fire at the Winters Hotel killed two residents and displaced more than 70. Earlier this month, officials reported a 103 percent increase in wildfires in the area since 2018 and a 25 percent increase since last year. Meanwhile, data obtained by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) shows that nearly two out of five fire code inspections at the city’s SROs this year revealed a violation. Vancouver Fire and Rescue found fire code violations at 72 SROs this year. (Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services) According to the VFRS, a total of 447 inspections were conducted at the city’s 181 SROs in 2022, and fire code violations were found in 38 percent of those inspections. Data from recent years shows that the rate of violations found per SRO inspection was over 30 percent as of 2017. The high number of fire code violations at SROs makes residents feel unsafe in their buildings, says Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) board member Dave Hamm. It also takes a long time to fix the problems, he said. “[Residents] they reported that the windows are boarded up, the fire exits are locked sometimes,” Hamm said. “There are no fire extinguishers, [or] sometimes it’s empty.” Isak Boyd, VANDU administrator, says the situation is getting worse as the buildings age into further dilapidated states. “Buildings are collapsing, they don’t have fire alarms, they don’t have sprinkler systems and it’s a very dangerous situation,” he said. WATCHES | Dozens displaced by fire in Downtown Eastside:
Dozens left homeless after fire in Downtown Eastside
More than 60 people are homeless, with some also losing all their belongings, after a fire damaged several buildings in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Monday’s fire displaced dozens more people when there is already a shortage of safe, affordable housing in the city, say advocates, many of whom criticized the ongoing clearance of homeless encampments along East Hastings Street. The cleanup was ordered in late July after VFRS said people should stop pitching tents on neighborhood sidewalks because of the increased fire risk. But Hamm and others who work with people who live in the Downtown Eastside argue that more effort needs to be made to improve fire safety at SROs and other buildings in the neighborhood. “The fire department must be stepped up and […] Let those places know so we can get people into housing,” Hamm said. Advocates like Dave Hamm want to see more work done to improve fire safety at SROs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. (Jon Hernandez/CBC) The situation is creating fear among residents, said Mebrat Beyene, executive director of the WISH Drop-In Centre. “We’re seeing levels of trauma and re-traumatization that I don’t think mainstream communities can fully appreciate,” Beyene said. Pivot Legal Society board member BeeLee Lee saw some of those fears during a recent community fire safety meeting. “People were worried about, ‘Is there someone in our community who’s setting fires?’ Do we have an arsonist in our neighborhood? Or do we have an arsonist and some accidents?” says Lee. “We asked Vancouver Fire Safety about the fires in the neighborhood. They told us that many of the fires were under investigation.”
“Buildings are burning left and right”
In an email to CBC News, Asst. Chief Dave Meers said fire inspectors try to evaluate every SRO in Vancouver in the first half of each calendar year and that work was already complete in 2022. “I can say with confidence that every SRO has been inspected this year and any fire code violations that were found were tracked and are being tracked,” Meers said. Watch | Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry answers questions about fire safety in the Downtown Eastside:
Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry says crews are working to improve safety in the Downtown Eastside
A series of devastating fires in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has advocates calling for greater attention to fire safety. BC Housing, which works with SRO operators to ensure buildings meet safety standards, acknowledged this year’s fires have been “devastating” for residents. “Some of the SRO buildings in our housing portfolio have been in operation for many years and require frequent and recurring maintenance. Whenever possible, these concerns are addressed promptly,” the housing agency said in a statement on Wednesday. “In cases where necessary sprinkler systems or other safety mechanisms cannot be repaired or reactivated immediately, BC Housing works with our not-for-profit providers to ensure that suitable alternatives, such as a fire watch, are in place until work is completed .” The agency said it is working to upgrade and replace old buildings, but acknowledged the work could take years. In the meantime, Boyd and others who work in the Downtown Eastside worry about the safety of community residents. “The amount of money keeps passing, [and] buildings are burning, left and right,” he said.
