Quick action by Vancouver firefighters kept hundreds of people safe after a blaze broke out in a large multi-unit building in Kitsilano.
Just before 4 p.m. on Thursday (March 23), a fire broke out in a unit in Steeve's Manor, which is a BC Housing building with 190 units located at 1985 Wallace St.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) Act. Ass. Chief Walter Pereira told V.I.A. that the "fire could have been really bad" if the fire crew hadn't gotten to it as quickly as they did.
"There are more than a couple of hundred people living in this complex, with many of them in wheelchairs," he explained.
"A lot of people and a lot of potential for problems."
Over 48 firefighters were dispatched to the second-alarm fire and there were approximately 10 firetrucks at the scene. While the fire crew was able to contain the blaze to the unit it broke out in, part of the building is uninhabitable.
The fire crews were doing reconnaissance on the floors by doing a primary search of every floor and opening every door to ensure people who needed help were assisted out. In some areas of the building, they did not have to leave.
Two Coast Mountain buses were utilized for shelter for residents while the firefighters battled the blaze.
A couple of people were sent to hospital after inhaling smoke. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
