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 second major fire of the day. 

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

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

The crane collapse pulled down power lines, damaging other electrical equipment and creating an outage, according to B.C. Hydro. The utility said around 760 customers were still affected as of 11:10 p.m. PT. It was looking at switching some customers to other circuits to restore power faster. 

Residents displaced

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

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

The fire also spread to a number of surrounding homes, displacing residents. Weeks told CBC News that crews and community members were able to put out most of the secondary structural fires but one house was lost east of the original fire.

Late Tuesday night, the city has advised any residents who have been displaced by the fire or need assistance to seek help at Crofton House School, located at 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, but he can't comment on the person's condition.

A spokesperson for the 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 alarming and scary to see such a major fire burning in their residential neighbourhood. But they also expressed gratitude toward firefighters 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 whether the 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 at an abandoned apartment building at 414 East 10th Avenue in East Vancouver, one year after a massive fire there displaced 70 people.