Fatal fire in downtown Vancouver: Off-duty paramedic describes trying to save neighbour
Warning: this story contains details that some readers may find upsetting.
One person has died following a fire in Vancouver Friday.
Officials told CTV News that paramedics performed life-saving measures on the male of unknown age, but despite CPR, he could not be revived.
First responders said the fire was reported shortly before noon at the building on Hornby Street north of Pacific Street.
Emergency Health Services said several paramedics responded, but no one was taken to hospital. Fire crews said the male victim died.
Video posted on social media shows flames pouring from the balcony of a suite in the building.
Assistant Chief Richard Craven, of Vancouver Fire Rescue Service, told CTV News the fire was contained to a single suite on the seventh floor.
“Crews are up there right now looking to see what damage there is to other suites," Craven said. "But the fire was contained to that one suite only.”
The two-alarm blaze brought 60 firefighters to the scene and prompted the evacuation of the building, according to Craven.
While crews were battling the blaze, a woman allegedly snuck into one of their trucks and attempted to steal their belongings.
The Vancouver Police Department told CTV News firefighters caught the woman "rooting through their things."
"They took back what was theirs and handed her over to police," said VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison in an email.
WITNESSES SAY THE VICTIM JUMPED
Gord Mafatow lives in the building where the fire occurred, next door to the unit where the fire apparently began.
He told CTV News he heard someone knocking on his door and yelling that there was a fire.
"I went and looked in the hallway and saw smoke coming from the unit next to mine," Mafatow said. "I tried knocking on the door and kicking it in because I had a fire extinguisher in my unit. And then couldn’t do it so I went back into my unit and called 911."
An off-duty paramedic, Mafatow said he heard glass breaking as he quickly made his way out of the building.
“I went into the back courtyard and I saw the gentleman that was in the unit," Mafatow said. "I guess he jumped. So I went up to him and my paramedic training kicked in.”
Another witness described hearing calls for help coming from the unit where the fire was burning, and CTV News has seen video of a person falling from the balcony.
Mafatow said he and other responders tried their best to save the man, but were unable to do so.
Though the victim was his neighbour, Mafatow said he didn't know the deceased man personally.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.