1 dead, 1 in hospital following morning highrise fire in Vancouver's West End

One person is now confirmed to have died in a fire that broke out in a highrise building in Vancouver's West End early Monday morning.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Chief Karen Fry said the victim is a 37-year-old man who passed away from his injuries. A second person is in hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. 

Crews were called to the fourth floor of the building on Pendrell Street between Jervis and Bute streets around 6 a.m. PT. 

"It's an un-sprinkler high-rise that is probably 11 or 12 storeys high," Fry told CBC News, adding that the fire caused extensive smoke and water damage to several units.

A witness living across the alley said he woke up when he heard the fire alarm, and then saw flames shooting out of a unit window.

"I immediately got dressed because I felt uncomfortable being in my apartment and when I got downstairs to the alley, the firefighters were already trying to put the fire out," Kit Winters told CBC News.

Fry said the blaze came from a unit located at the back of the building and crews will be continuing to clean up the damage for the remainder of the day.

"There were heavy flames coming out of the window of the unit and it had broken the glass on the window and it was lapping up to the floor above," Fry said.

"One floor will probably not be occupied today, that's for sure, and the other one, it'll just take time to remove the damage."

It is the second residential fire in as many days that has resulted in loss of life. On Sunday, a child was among three people killed in an East Vancouver house fire that also left two other people from the same family injured. 

That brings the total number of fire deaths in Vancouver so far in 2022 to four, compared to a total of five in all of 2021.