A fire that claimed the life of an elderly Vancouver man over the weekend may have been preventable, firefighters say.

Flames erupted inside a rental home on East 47th Avenue just after 4 a.m. Sunday.

A family of three living on the ground floor was able to escape, but the downstairs tenant, a man in his 70s, did not survive. Firefighters said they had a difficult time finding him in the heavy smoke that poured from the basement.

The family that survived woke up smelling smoke, a coworker told CTV News.

Devon McClurg said he works with one of the tenants, Eduardo Gomez, who escaped with his wife and young daughter. McClurg has set up an online fundraiser to help Gomez get back on his feet, as the family did not have insurance.

"Nice guy, really nice guy. Loves his family," McClurg said of Gomez.

And the father is also "very, very lucky," according to Vancouver Fire Capt. Jonathan Gormick, because the upper floor had no working smoke detectors. Downstairs, there were no smoke alarms at all.

The fire is believed to have started in the illegal basement suite, where firefighters say a space heater was plugged into a power cord along with other electronic devices.

It's possible that the power bar was overloaded, something Gormick cautioned others to be careful to avoid.

Those using power bars are urged to check for specific ratings which indicate they've been tested to Canadian standards. They should also be careful when running space heaters.

"If they're plugged in to a power bar, nothing else should be plugged into it," Gormick said.

Firefighters also ask the public and landlords to ensure they have working smoke alarms.

In Vancouver, the BC Building Code now requires alarms installed in all areas where people sleep, and there should be at least one on every level of a home. Most fire-related deaths are due to smoke inhalation, the city says.

Smoke alarms should be approved by a recognized testing laboratory, and batteries should be replaced once a year.

Officials recommend vacuuming smoke alarms twice a year and testing them every month. Smoke alarms should not be painted or disconnected, and the batteries should not be removed.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber