A 46-year-old man who suffered burns to 90 per cent of his body during a garage fire in East Vancouver earlier this week has succumbed to his injuries.

The victim was inside the garage, which housed a self-contained living space, when the fire broke out Tuesday in the 600-block of East 57th Avenue.

He managed to escape the structure and was lying on the ground severely burned when firefighters and paramedics arrived.

The unnamed victim was taken to hospital in critical condition but did not survive, marking Vancouver’s first fire fatality of 2014.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said it appears the fire started as a result of carelessly discarded smoking materials. There were also no smoke alarms in the garage.

Firefighters are urging the public to have working smoke detectors on every floor and near all sleeping areas in their homes.