Fire breaks out in apartment highrise in Vancouver's Coal Harbour
Fire official says blaze was knocked down just before 5 p.m., no injuries reported
A fire was reported in an apartment highrise in Vancouver's Coal Harbour neighbourhood on Monday afternoon.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services information officer Matthew Trudeau told CBC News that the department upgraded the fire to a second-alarm blaze just after 4 p.m. PT on Monday, after initially responding to a fire alarm activation.
A second alarm brings more resources to the fire including additional fire engines and ladder trucks, more firefighters, officers and specialized equipment.
Trudeau said they were faced with fire on several floors after arriving on scene but were able to get it under control just before 5 p.m. PT.
Firefighters were already making their way up to the 20th floor when they were alerted to the severity of the blaze, according to the information officer.
"We're working on cause and origin with our investigators to make sure, you know, which level it came from," he told CBC News. "The 20th [floor] is the lower one."
He said that firefighters were still searching the floors of the building, but there had been no reports of injuries as of 6 p.m. PT. The force of the fire caused debris and embers to fall onto the ground — igniting smaller fires in the shrubs down below.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but Trudeau said that fire investigators were on the scene Monday.
He says more than 50 firefighters were called in from across the city, and 14 pieces of equipment were deployed.
"We had a very obviously challenging scene of heavy fire involvement already, and then we had multiple fires down here with material coming off," he said. "We don't have any reports of injuries from the material coming off."
Video from a CBC News reporter on the scene showed at least four floors of the building at 1500 Alberni Street with significant damage.
The building is located at Alberni and Nicola streets in the upmarket Coal Harbour neighbourhood, located in the city's downtown peninsula.
Trudeau says that nearby streets might be closed for a few hours on Monday as crews ensure no more debris is falling from the building, and use water to cool down any hot spots.
With files from Akshay Kulkarni and Rafferty Baker