The sister of a man who died in last week's triple-fatal house fire in East Vancouver is calling for an investigation into why the illegal rooming house wasn't shut down earlier.

Steve Yellowquill, 55, was one of three men who died after a fire broke out at the home in the 2800-block of Pandora Street on Dec. 21.

His sister Tara Lavallee has fond memories of Yellowquill, even though she hadn't seen him in years.

"He was a jokester. He was really fun -- very kind," Lavallee said. "He would give you the shirt off his back."

She's now joining the call for an investigation into why the City of Vancouver didn't order the house to be shut down months ago.

A faulty electrical wire triggered the deadly blaze. The city says the house has a history of bylaw infractions, and has ordered the owner to demolish it by January.

Lavallee says that her mother visited the house regularly, and often told her about the disgusting conditions.

"That building should've been condemned a long time ago," she said. "There was lots of cockroaches and mice. It was very dirty. There was mould all over the house, the windows -- not fit for humans to live," she said.

Her mother told her there had been plumbing concerns and issues with an electrical outlet in Yellowquill's room.

"He just heard a bang and he looked over and could see smoke coming out of the outlet, and then when he pulled the pillow away from it, he could see a little bit of flame," Lavallee said.

Bylaw officers visited the home in August, and ordered the owner to make repairs and stop renting the home to multiple tenants. Inspectors followed up in November and found few of the repairs had been made, and the building was still being used as a rooming house.

A man who answered the door at the landlord's house refused to comment on the fire. The city says it is investigating.

Yellowquill was on a disability pension after a bout of double pneumonia left him unable to work. Lavallee says she doesn't know why exactly he chose to live in the rooming house.

"I know that he really enjoyed his friends and their company," she said.

Yellowquill's family says he had hopes of a better life, and had hopes to some day move out of the rooming house.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro