70 people displaced after fire destroys Vancouver apartment building

More than 70 people were displaced and five were sent to hospital as the result of a fire that destroyed an apartment building in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood on Thursday.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) says the fire began at an older, three-storey apartment building at 414 East 10 Ave. around 8:30 p.m. PT. As soon as crews arrived, they began rescuing people from balconies on the third floor of the building.

Firefighters tried to fight the fire from inside the building, but in a statement the fire department said intense heat and deteriorating conditions forced them to fight the fire outside.

More than 70 firefighters were called to the fire. VFRS Fire Chief Karen Fry said the building is likely ruined.

"It appears at this time it's going to be completely destroyed or uninhabitable — at this time, there's no chance of [residents] being able to go back into their homes," Fry told CBC News.

"It was a pretty devastating fire."

Emergency Support Services and the Red Cross are helping residents find shelter and providing assistance, according to VFRS. 

The fire service said all residents from the building have been accounted for. B.C. Emergency Health Services confirmed five people were taken to hospital, including one firefighter who had non-life-threatening injuries. 

Fry said the firefighter has since been released from hospital. Several other crew members were treated for heat exhaustion at the scene of the fire.

Officials did not provide the condition of the other patients.

Firefighters also saved a number of pets, Fry said. 

Resident Tricha Ruda said she did her best to warn neighbours about the fire. 

"I ran up to the third floor and I saw all this smoke," Ruda told CBC News.

"I was banging on people's doors, screaming at them ... telling them get the hell out of here now." 

'Chaotic scene'

Fry said it appeared flames might have broken out in a suite that had "a heavy load of combustible materials" inside.

"We had harder access trying to get into that unit to extinguish the fire," said Fry.

"It was a pretty chaotic scene, from what I understand. It was heavy smoke conditions throughout the building and the neighbourhood. The fire shortly thereafter, probably within the first 30 minutes to an hour, broke through the roof of the building."

Mount Pleasant is a largely residential neighbourhood southeast of Vancouver's downtown core.

More than 2,000 B.C. Hydro customers in the neighbourhood were without power overnight because of the fire, but electricity was restored Friday morning.