A tent caught fire in the 100-block of East Hastings Street around 6:00 a.m., in front of the Brandiz Hotel SRO. “This holds about 180 to 200 people, it’s very close,” resident Kevin Purdy said. “That’s what the fire chief was saying.”
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On Saturday morning, Purdy, who has been on garbage duty at the Brandiz Hotel for the past eight years, was cleaning up the remains of someone’s burnt belongings. “It was just a loud bang and then a bunch of smoke and fire crews,” said Justin Chipman, who heard the fire from his room. “He could have blown my friend kingdom come.” Story continues below ad Chipman believes a propane tank at the scene may have sparked the explosion he heard.
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No one was injured, according to Vancouver Fire and Rescue, which said the cause is under investigation and it’s unclear if propane, butane or other flammable materials were involved. “There was no one in that scene. It was literally stacked full of trash from what I could tell,” Chipman said. “It was a tent full of rubbish and then it was left to burn.” Purdy has lived in the DTES for 20 years, and with low-income tenants already displaced by three major building fires in as many months, he and other residents want action to make the area safe for everyone. “It’s a ticking time bomb down here,” Purdy told Global News Saturday.
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When Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry ordered on July 25 that tents and structures be immediately removed from the section of East Hastings near Main Streets, she warned that a potential fire “would be devastating, putting lives at risk and endangering risk hundreds of units of much-needed housing.” Story continues below ad Two people died when a massive fire ripped through the Winters Hotel in Gastown on April 11 and displaced dozens of SRO residents. Two months later, a man died after a battery overload caused an explosion at the Empress Hotel SRO in the 200-block of East Hastings. On July 6, the street church and an adjacent two-story building were destroyed in a fire in the 100-block of East Hastings. “It has the potential to really get out of hand if it continues to persist,” Purdy said. Purdy said safety concerns, including fires and violence, have escalated with the city’s recent development of sidewalk tents. “An elderly friend of mine was kicked because there is no room to move his wheelchair,” he told Global News. “A 70-year-old man in a wheelchair doesn’t need to be attacked when he has nowhere to go and is just trying to get by.” 2:46 Vancouver artist says DTES saved his life Vancouver artist says DTES saved his life – July 31, 2022 While Purdy and other DTES residents do what they can to remove debris and keep the sidewalk clear, he said the ongoing problem needs to be resolved. Story continues below ad “I feel sorry for the campers, but they have to have a better place organized than the sidewalk,” Purdy said. 5:37 First Nations groups call for action to help vulnerable in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside First Nations groups call for action to help vulnerable in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside – July 29, 2022 Related News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
