Fire erupts at construction site on Vancouver's West Side

UPDATE Aug. 7, 2024: Huge Vancouver blaze that likely caused crane collapse is now contained: fire service

Flames and smoke could be seen rising from a construction site on Vancouver's West Side on Tuesday evening in the city's secondmajor fire of the day.

The large fire inthe city's Dunbar neighbourhood started around 6:30 p.m. PT.

Video of the scene also showed acranefalling in the fire's vicinity at West 41st Avenue and Collingwood Street.

Thecrane collapsepulled down power lines, damagingother electrical equipment and creatingan outage, according to B.C. Hydro. The utilitysaid around 760 customerswere still affectedas of 11:10p.m. PT.It waslooking at switching some customers to other circuits to restore power faster.

Residents displaced

The blaze engulfeda six-storey wood-frame building that was under construction.

"We have no indication that there were people on scene and the buildingis a total loss," saidRobert Weeks, deputy fire chief of Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.

The fire alsospreadto a number of surrounding homes, displacing residents.Weekstold CBC News that crews and community members were able to put out most of the secondary structural fires but one housewas lost east of the original fire.

Late Tuesday night, the city hasadvised any residents who have been displaced by the fire or need assistance toseek helpat Crofton House School,locatedat 3200 W 41st Avenue.

Dozens of fire crews from Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond were at the scene to respond to the fire. Its cause is still under investigation.

Weeks said there were some minor injuries among firefighters, but no injuries have been reported among residents. He added he's aware of a citizen who had to be rescued as a result of the crane collapse, buthe can't comment on the person's condition.

A spokesperson forthe Provincial Health Services Authority, which manages the B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), said no one had to be assessed for injuries and no one needed to be taken to hospital as of 8:30 p.m. PT.

Some Dunbar residents told CBC News that it was alarmingand scaryto see such a major fire burning in their residential neighbourhood. But they also expressed gratitude towardfirefighters who responded.

According to Weeks,the Dunbar-area fire is one of several that started in Vancouver Tuesday evening. He said it's too early to determine whetherthe fires are connected.

"Our firefighters are right now working incredibly hard to keep these fires at bay," he said.

The city's first fire of the day occurred Tuesday afternoon atan abandoned apartment building at 414 East 10th Avenuein East Vancouver, one year after a massive fire there displaced 70 people.