SRO owner says Vancouver failed to act before Powell Street fire

The owner of a private single-room occupancy hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside says this week’s fire at a former SRO next door could have been prevented had the city acted sooner on concerns about the vacant building.

Tuesday’s fire at 568 Powell Street spread to two neighbouring buildings, damaging a restaurant and displacing people. The same building caught fire in August 2022, when it was privately operated as an SRO, displacing 59 people.

Bob Fontaine, owner of 566 Powell Street, said the building has been vacant since then and occupied by squatters. He said he repeatedly warned the City of Vancouver it was a fire hazard. Fontaine also claimed the owner received an insurance payout but did not demolish the building, despite it being beyond repair. He said the owner told him there had been no requirement to demolish it, so the insurer would not pay for demolition; Fontaine said the structure has remained derelict for four years.

The City of Vancouver did not make anyone available for an interview Thursday. Asked why the building was not demolished after the August 2022 fire, the city did not answer, citing an active investigation. The Vancouver Firefighters Union said vacant, unsecured buildings in the Downtown Eastside are a known hazard to firefighters and the community, and that fires in such buildings are inevitable over time.