VANCOUVER -- City crews spent Friday night demolishing an abondened building on Commercial Drive that was deemed to collapse at any moment.
A passerby first called 911 just after 6:00 p.m. because they heard strange creaking sounds coming from the building and saw small pieces crumbling away at one corner.
“That north corner is really compromised. As it stands right now it looks like the stucco is basically holding it together,” said Asst. Chief Kenney Gemmill of Vancouver Fire Rescue Service.
The corner of the building he pointed to had a large open seam running from the sidewalk to the top of the second storey roof of the building, which stood at East 14th Avenue and Commercial Drive.
Gemmill called in city building engineers and the decision was made that the building should be torn down as soon as possible because it was at risk of imminent collapse.
Crews from Fortis BC and BC Hydro were called to make sure there were no active connections to the building.
Coast Mountain Bus Company was also notified because there was a concern the building’s front wall could impact trolley lines on Commercial Drive, but transit line crews decided that was not a concern.
The city then brought in a backhoe to begin tearing down the two storey structure.
Gemmill said he couldn’t remember a situation where the fire department had deemed a building unsafe and requested a knockdow and for which a recent structure fire wasn't involved.
“This is unique because it’s not a burned building. It’s an actual possible structural collapse which we still get called for,” Gemmill said. “We’ve got to make sure the scene is safe. So this is unique to me.”
He estimated the empty building had been neglected for several years before getting to the point it had to be demolished .
