Fire-ravaged East Vancouver apartment building demolished
A Vancouver apartment building that has been ravaged by a series of fires over the last couple of years is now finally coming down.
The abandoned building at 414 East 10th Ave. most recently caught fire last week – after a larger blaze initially displaced 70 people in July of last year.
CTV News spoke with some people who used to live in the building, who spoke of a lack of maintenance, claiming the owner neglected the basics – even using tape to fix leaky plumbing.
“Happy that the damn thing is going down, why wouldn’t I be?” Harvey Tyndall, a former tenant told CTV News as he watched the building come down, before giving his assessment of the building’s owner.
“The guy was an idiot. He’s a jerk and a slumlord.”
There have been at least two other fires at the vacant building since last year's, including the large one earlier this month that prompted the demolition.
“Following the fire on last Tuesday evening, I made the determination that the building represented an unsafe condition,” Saul Schwebs, the City of Vancouver’s chief building official said during a news conference on Friday as the demolition work began behind him.
“So we are in the process of taking immediate corrective measures as permitted the Vancouver building bylaw.”
The owner Fu De Ren pleaded guilty to 20 bylaw violations related to the building earlier this year – and agreed to pay $4,500 in fines.
CTV News reached Ren by phone on Friday, but when a reporter tried asking questions – including about his plans for the future of the site – he said he had a hearing problem.
The city says the demolition will cost $1.2 million, and the bill will go to Ren.
Schwebs told reporters he’s confident the city can recoup the costs through property taxes if Ren doesn’t pay up directly – but he acknowledged communication with the owner has been difficult.
The cause of the most recent fire is still under investigation, but the city and fire department have said squatters had been in and out of the building in recent months.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7033821.1726068533!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Conservatives to put forward non-confidence motion in Trudeau government 'at earliest possible opportunity'
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will put forward a non-confidence motion when Parliament resumes 'at the earliest possible opportunity' with the aim of triggering an early federal election.
FACT CHECK: A look at the false and misleading claims made during the Trump-Harris debate
In their first and perhaps only debate, former U.S. president Donald Trump and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris described the state of the country in starkly different terms. As the two traded jabs, some old false and misleading claims emerged along with some new ones.
BREAKING An iconic Winston Churchill photograph, once stolen and replaced with a fake in Ottawa, has been found
Ottawa's Chateau Laurier hotel says authorities have recovered an iconic photograph of Winston Churchill after it was stolen and replaced with a fake nearly three years ago.
Trudeau says he 'can't wait' to get into it with Poilievre in Parliament
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he 'can't wait' to get back to Ottawa to get into it with Pierre Poilievre in the House of Commons, as he makes the case to his own party to put up a united front against the Conservatives.
The 18% tip: Here's what Canadians are saying as some restaurants raise their default options
Despite what the default options on the payment terminal might read, most Canadians still want to tip around 15 per cent, according to a new survey.
Parents fight for change after 13-year-old girl dies in B.C. homeless camp
Brianna McDonald's death was caused by a suspected overdose, according to her family. And her grieving parents are urging change so other families don’t have to face what they are going though.
What to know about Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris
Music superstar Taylor Swift has officially launched her Kamala Harris era.
Mother of suspected Apalachee High School shooter apologizes to victims' families in open letter
The mother of the teenager suspected of killing four people during last week’s shooting at a Georgia high school has apologized to the victims' families in an open letter while insisting her son 'is not a monster.'
Singh to talk policy priorities at second day of NDP caucus retreat
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is expected to have more to share today about the progressive policies his team intends to prioritize, and his red lines, when Parliament resumes next week.