VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Several businesses and art studios have been destroyed after a three alarm fire tore through a commercial building on the corner of Broadway and Kingsway in Vancouver early this morning. Assistant Chief Wade Pierlot with Vancouver Fire says the fire started inside Genesis Nutrition, before spreading to the building's second floor.
Pierlot says that's when crews were forced out. "They made a real aggressive interior attack at first, but like a lot of this type of building structure it had already gained access to a false ceiling that's common throughout all the occupancies. And once it got in over top like that it becomes very dangerous for our firefighters."
All of the suites are commercial units, many of which were used as artist studios. One woman watched from the street as thousands of pieces of original art and jewelry were destroyed by the fire.
This fire is just one block east from where another blaze destroyed a building at the corner of Main Street and Broadway just a month and a half ago. In that fire, a long-time breakfast institution Slickity Jim's Chat'n'Chew burned to the ground. The flames had reportedly spread from the Kishu Island sushi restaurant next door.