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Dozens of residents displaced following blaze at North Vancouver seniors apartments

The building has sustained 'severe damage' but emergency support services will be on scene to gather people's belongings, fire chief says.
Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

More than 30 residents have been displaced after a fire tore through and partially collapsed a seniors apartment building in North Vancouver this weekend.  

District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services received reports of a fire just after 9 a.m. Saturday at Silverlynn Apartments at 1335 E. 27th St., near Mountain Highway.  

Fire chief Mike Danks said more than 60 crew members from the three North Shore fire departments came to fight the blaze.

They got the fire under control around 8 p.m. Saturday, but they continued working overnight to put out “hot spots.”  

“With a fire of that magnitude, it’s really hard to put out all the hot spots,” Danks said. “It’s still smouldering and there’s some smoke coming from it today, so crews will be returning to the site.” 

Photos and videos on social media from Saturday’s fire show smoke moving across the North Shore.

The building was undergoing renovations, and the part of the building that was under construction has completely collapsed, said Danks, adding that one-quarter of the rest of the building has suffered “severe damage.” An excavator is on site to prevent more damage.  

Due to the building being under construction, the fire quickly spread as there was no drywall, he said.

Crews rescued more than 10 people from their balconies during Saturday's blaze. 

Although there's severe damage to the building, all residents have been accounted for, according to the fire chief.

Danks said two people were sent to the hospital in stable condition but they have since been released, and three people were treated on site, likely from smoke inhalation. 

North Shore Emergency Management (NSEM) said 36 people have been displaced due to the fire.  

The director of NSEM, Emily Dicken, said they have found hotels across the North Shore for the displaced residents.  

“Everybody’s remained on the North Shore, which is really good for creating [a] strong sense of community and keeping people as close to home as we can, [close] to the supports and services that they’re used to receiving,” Dicken said.  

Over the next few weeks, NSEM will start to work with other housing providers and government organizations to provide long-term support, she said.  

In the meantime, fire crews will be working with Emergency Support Services to recover valuable items from residents' suites such as medications, cellphones and hearing aids.  

“We’re trying to bring that stuff back to people so they have that,” Danks said. 

The community rallied to help at yesterday’s fire scene, the fire chief said, from volunteers ensuring drains weren't plugged to emergency social services taking care of residents to nearby restaurants donating food and coffee to those working on site.  

District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services is still investigating the cause of the fire.  

“All in all, I think [it's] just absolutely incredible when you look at the magnitude of the fire that we had, the amount of people that were trapped on decks that were evacuated by fire personnel, it’s really a miracle that no one was seriously injured," Danks said. 

 

Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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