The construction site that caught fire in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood Tuesday has been partly demolished as of Saturday, as officials say a nearby road will be blocked for a few more weeks.
Saul Schwebs, chief building official for the City of Vancouver, told reporters Saturday the crane that toppled over during the fire could remain lying across West 41st Avenue, near Collingwood Street, for up to two more weeks.
“We’re trying hard to get this situation back to normal as quickly as possible, and as safely as possible,” Schwebs said.
The massive fire on Tuesday spread from the six-storey wooden frame of a building under construction to several homes in the neighbourhood.
Residents recalled flames reaching above trees, and a pillar of black smoke rising from the construction site, before a nearby crane collapsed onto a home.
A towering construction crane came crashing down into a Vancouver house as fire and explosions engulfed a construction site on the city’s West Side.
According to Schwebs, one house next to the construction site burned down. Embers that floated around the neighbourhood Tuesday night set another house on fire on West 39th Avenue.
Schwebs said he expects those two homes, plus the home crushed by the crane, to be demolished. The official said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Miranda Myles, manager of the Vancouver Emergency Management Agency (VEMA), said about 81 residents were evacuated from their homes due to the fire.
While most residents were able to return to homes on Wednesday, officials say three homes were rendered unlivable and two were blocked by “dangerous scaffolding” after the fire. By Saturday, Schwebs said, the scaffolding had been removed.
Myles said VEMA is prepared to support displaced residents find accommodations and support.
Firefighters stretched across the city
Two other fires across the city stretched the fire department’s resources thin on Tuesday, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services assistant chief Brad Hesse told reporters Saturday.
“The city was so busy that evening ,” Hesse said. “We were maxed.”
According to Hesse, Tuesday night was the busiest he’s seen at the department in the last 30 years. He said at points that evening, firefighters had no equipment that wasn’t in use.
Firefighters from Burnaby and Richmond helped respond to the fire in the Dunbar neighbourhood, where Hesse said embers “the size of soccer balls” were falling around the neighbourhood.
Future of construction site unclear
The construction site that caught fire was slated to be a 114-unit rental building.
The owner of the construction site, Sightline Properties, did not respond to requests for comment.
Zihao Zhang says she has not been cleared to return to her home, which was damaged by the fire and crane collapse at a construction site in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood.
In an email to CBC News, City of Vancouver spokesperson Jessie Bennett said the city is focused on supporting people displaced by fire.
When asked whether developers would resume construction at the site, Bennett said the city will have to discuss next steps for the site in the coming weeks.