Vancouver’s fire chief 'extremely frustrated' with daily fires on Downtown Eastside
After a large fire spread from tents to a shuttered theatre on the city’s Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s fire chief told reporters she was “incredibly frustrated” that more isn’t being done to prevent daily fires breaking out in the area.
Karen Fry revealed that since last July when she ordered the clearing of tents and temporary structures that have increasingly taken up sidewalk space and blocked exits from buildings, there’ve been 360 fires outdoors in that area alone: on average, one and a half each day.
“The access to the buildings sometimes get cleared, and the next day you drive down and they're blocked again with new tents,” said Fry, who goes through the area herself nearly every day. “Too many lives are at risk here so we need to continue to remove stuff and to remove the tents and the city needs to do more.”
The Sunday evening fire badly damaged the Imperial Theatre, which has been closed for months. A fire hall is a block away and video of Sunday’s fire shows crews showed up within minutes of the flames breaking out and being witnessed by dozens.
Fire crews removed a hundred-pound propane tank and half a dozen BBQ-sized tanks from the scene, where they also found jerry cans full of gasoline. They say some of the explosions heard on the social media videos may have been from batteries.
Propane tanks have gone from being the occasional eyesore to a major concern for residents in other parts of the city, where encampments of various sizes show signs of fire and the metal tanks can be seen scattered or piled up nearby.
“We have homelessness and those sheltering outdoors across our city,” said Fry, acknowledging it’s a delicate balance to remove shelters people rely on in the name of safety. “It is a crisis, but the risks that we're seeing in the Downtown Eastside – specifically (East) Hastings Street and the area surrounding that – is untenable.”
CTV News tried to get an interview with Public Safety Minister, Mike Farnworth, to ask whether he’s considering a new strategy to house those without any other option or who’d rather live on the street than in dilapidated, vermin-infested social housing in the Downtown Eastside. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/150m-toward-texting-but-no-new-staff-in-b-c-funding-to-911-service-1.6294838
Instead, the a ministry spokesperson emailed a statement from the provincial Fire Commissioner Brian Godlonton, who wrote his office “has been working with fire departments, local governments, and other partners throughout the province to take meaningful action to effect change.”
He did not elaborate on how that was happening, but the ministry pointed to an effort by all levels of government to expand housing supply.
Fry pointed out homeless encampments and fires from heat sources are an issue across North America and acknowledges there are efforts underway to improve the situation, but that “it's not making enough of a difference” and the risk to everyone – campers, nearby residents, first respondres, passersby -- remains high.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.