Firefighter hurt battling four-alarm blaze in Downtown Vancouver

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A firefighter has been hurt after a four-alarm blaze broke out in Downtown Vancouver Thursday.

Crews were called to the fire at a building on Thurlow near Haro Street around 9:00 a.m. The injured firefighter was treated by paramedics, but then taken to hospital.

“All I can say that it happened in the course of firefighting operations,” Captain Jonathan Gormick with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services explains. “I can’t release any medical information for that person, but it doesn’t appear to be life threatening and they’re just being checked out at hospital as a precaution.”

It started off as a second alarm fire, but was quickly upgraded to fourth alarm because of how extensively it extended through the walls and ceilings of the complex.

Gormick says two people were brought out of the building on an aerial ladder after their hallway appears to be full of smoke. They were also take to hospital to be checked out.

Meantime, a number of pets were also rescued.

“My landlord started screaming for everyone to get out so I grabbed my dog and I tried to grab my cat but he ran,” one woman told CityNews.

“He’s a foster cat, so I was more just thinking if there was any problems, I know he belongs to a family and there’s a little girl that’s very attached so it was more just trying to make sure that I get him back for them, really,” another resident said.

A number of people were displaced by the fire, some wondering when they’ll be allowed back into their suites.

Gormick says the building was old. “Several renovations had been done over the years, rendering it full of void spaces and areas where the fire could get trapped.”

Fire investigators have yet to determine what caused this fire.

Thurlow Street was shut down to pedestrians and vehicles from Robson Street to Davie Street for several hours.

– With files from Simon Druker

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