Vancouver firefighters seeing record-breaking number of Downtown Eastside fires
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services has been responding to a significantly increasing number of fires in the city's Downtown Eastside.
According to spokesperson Capt. Matthew Trudeau, the department has responded to 89 per cent more calls in the neighbourhood over the past three years.
"The indoor activity has gone up, the outdoor activity has gone up,” he told CTV News.
One of the things driving the surge in calls for service is a record-breaking number of blazes in the area's single room occupancy buildings. This year, they've responded to 265 fires – which works out to an average of one every 31 hours.
"They are high risk, they have a very at risk population inside, and we have a high fire activity as a result,” Trudeau said.
In addition to fires, crews are also being dispatched to the buildings for hundreds of other incidents.
"We’ve had over 450 calls this year alone to one SRO,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau says they’re also responding to an increased number of calls near an encampment on East Hasting Street, particularly recently.
"We’re seeing that specifically within the last month a dramatic increase in outdoor fires which is to be expected because of the colder temperatures,” said Trudeau.
In July, Fire Chief Karen Fry ordered tents and other structures to be removed from the stretch between Main and Carrall streets.
According to the City of Vancouver, there are currently 111 tents and structures in that area, down from 180 in August.
“As winter continues, the city's primary concern is ensuring people sheltering outdoors along East Hastings Street and other parts of the city, can come inside to ensure their safety and well-being," a spokesperson told CTV News in an email.
“BC Housing and the city are working together to rapidly deploy indoor spaces, such as shelters and SROs, to provide options for people to come inside,”
However, as advocate Sarah Blyth points out, those fires are very often the result of people simply doing what they have to do to survive.
"It's just a matter of staying alive during the freezing temperatures. It wouldn't be shocking if people were dying during this time,” she said.
“We need to step it up and get people into shelters.”
Blyth says although emergency shelters and warming centres do open up when temperatures plummet or snow falls, there is a persistent lack of long-term options.
“There’s a big problem in a big city with so much wealth, and a country with so much wealth when we’re not able to house such a vulnerable population,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Ontario urges mpox testing amid spike in cases
Ontario health officials are urging public health units to test for mpox, the viral disease formerly known as monkeypox, amid a spike of confirmed cases in the province.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.