The owner of an SRO on Vancouver’s Powell Street says a vacant building next door was not addressed despite repeated warnings before a fire this week.
The Story
A private single room occupancy (SRO) owner on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside says an earlier intervention by the City of Vancouver may have prevented or reduced the impact of a fire that spread across multiple buildings on Powell Street.
The fire broke out Tuesday at 568 Powell Street, according to the account, and extended into two neighbouring properties. The incident damaged a restaurant and displaced people, and it followed earlier history at the same site.
The owner, Bob Fontaine, said he owns 566 Powell Street and claims the neighbouring building had been empty and taken over by squatters since after an August 2022 fire at 568 Powell Street. He said he warned the city multiple times that the vacant property posed a fire hazard.
Fontaine argued that the building should have been demolished after the 2022 incident, describing it as not repairable. He said an insurance payout was received for the structure but that the owner was not compelled to tear the building down.
In comments attributed to Fontaine, he said he asked why it was not being removed and was told that because the owner was never forced to demolish it, “the insurance wouldn’t pay me to tear it down.” He also said the structure sat derelict for about four years, remaining unsecured.
When questioned about why the building was not torn down after the August 2022 fire, the City of Vancouver did not provide an answer in the published account, citing an active investigation. The city also did not make anyone available for an interview at the time the report was published.
The Vancouver Firefighters Union said vacant buildings in the Downtown Eastside are a known hazard, and when properties remain empty and unsecured, it is not a question of whether they will burn but when, according to the report.
The Tuesday fire’s spread into adjacent buildings increased the stakes for both residents and nearby businesses in a neighbourhood that already faces heightened risk from vacant and deteriorating structures. Fontaine’s allegations centre on whether earlier municipal action—after a prior fire and with persistent vacancy—could have changed the conditions leading to this week’s incident.
For residents and property owners in the Downtown Eastside, the case underscores how vacancy, lack of security, and the timeline for response after serious fire damage can affect public safety. It also highlights the continuing role of enforcement and demolition decisions for buildings that remain idle after incidents that leave structures unusable.
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