One man is dead after being found unconscious and not breathing by firefighters responding to a fire in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Service crews were called around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, to a building on the southwest corner of the intersection of East Hastings Street and Dunlevy Avenue. When they arrived, a bystander waved them to the back alley where smoke was coming from a door.
Firefighters were able to get inside what turned out to be a small electrical room and quickly put water on the fire, says Asst. Chief Keith Stewart.
"As they were making their entry inside they realized there was an unidentified male at the fire location," says Stewart.
They quickly put the fire out and took the man to safety where they performed CPR. However, Stewart says when the man was found, he wasn't breathing and had no pulse. BC Ambulance crews arrived shortly after and while attempts were made to revive him, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It's tragic for sure; any loss of life is always a tragedy," says Stewart.
Fire investigators are looking into the exact cause of the fire, but it's not believed to be suspicious. Vancouver police say the man was in his 50s but have not identified him.
Lighters and matches were found at the scene, along with drug paraphernalia and evidence someone had been staying, if not living, there.
Stewart says it appears the fire started accidentally and investigators will be looking into how and why the man came to be in the room.
The building itself sustained damage to its electrical system, he adds, but the structure itself appears sound.
