East Vancouver apartment block to be demolished after 2nd fire - Action News
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British Columbia

East Vancouver apartment block to be demolished after 2nd fire

An abandoned apartment building in East Vancouver that caught fire on Tuesday, a year after a previous blaze displaced 70 residents, will now be demolished, according to the city's fire department.

Building at 414 East 10th Ave. went up in flames Tuesday, just over a year after 70 people displaced by fire

Firefighters and fire trucks are seen spraying water on a building shrouded by smoke.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services spray an apartment building in East Vancouver on Tuesday. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)

An abandoned apartment building in East Vancouver that caught fire on Tuesday, a year after a previous blaze displaced 70 residents, will now be demolished, according to the city's fire department.

In an update Wednesday, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS) said the city's chief building official has ordered the demolition due to the building's condition.

"We expect that work will proceed as soon as possible in the coming days," VFRS said in a statement.

Assistant Chief Keith Stewart told CBC News that firefighters were called to the building at414 E.10th Ave. around 4:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

They arrived to find heavy black smoke and the entire third floor ablaze.

Firefighters spray water on a building shrouded in smoke.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services firefighters attend to a blaze at an abandoned apartment building on Tuesday. Firefighters have not received any reports of injuries as of Tuesday evening. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)

Stewart said no injuries were reported as of 6:45 p.m. PT on Tuesday, and the fire hadbeen confined to the building. No cause was immediately provided.

The apartment complex is believed to be abandoned, according to Stewart.

A man uses a cell phone to record firefighters extinguishing a blaze.
A man uses his phone to capture the efforts of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services on Tuesday. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)

Thefire at the building just over a year ago was believed to have been caused bycandlesand was ruled to have started accidentally.

The owners of the building have faced multiple fire code violations in the past. Displaced tenants told CBC News earlier this summer they were still waiting for compensationfrom their landlords after the fire.

A few hours after Tuesday's fire, anothermajor blaze broke out at a construction site at West 41st Avenue and Collingwood Street in the city's Dunbar neighbourhood.

With files from Jessica Cheung