According to firefighters, an explosion on the second floor of a self-catering hotel (SRO) in downtown Vancouver Eastside has left one person dead and two injured.
Officials say it happened at the Empress Hotel, at the intersection of Hastings and Main Street in the heart of the neighborhood, shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday.
Acting Fire Chief Walter Pereira told CBC News that the blast was probably due to a battery being overloaded in one of the suites in the SRO building.
“[Crews] he found a person in the suite in the alley, who did not respond, “he said.
“After the interrogation of the person’s girlfriend, it was … unfortunate circumstances,” he added. “It looks like the person was next to the window, where he was pushed or fell out the window and fell to death from the second floor.”
Two people were injured in the blast, but the fire was limited to the suite and firefighters were able to extinguish it, Pereira said.
Roads around Main and Hastings were temporarily closed when firefighters responded to the blast, but reopened shortly thereafter.
Researchers and structural engineers will be on site Saturday to determine if the hotel is safe for future residents.
The blaze broke out just over a month after a fire at the nearby Winters Hotel in Gastown destroyed the property and left two people dead.