Local residents oppose temporary fire hall in Vancouver Chinatown

Design concept for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (TKA+D Architecture & Design)

Residents and businesses in Vancouver’s Chinatown district and the wider Strathcona neighbourhood are expressing opposition to a planned temporary fire hall within their area.

As first reported by Daily Hive Urbanized last month, the City of Vancouver intends to turn 722 Gore Avenue into a new additional outpost for Vancouver Fire Rescue to handle the high volume of calls stemming from areas in and around the Downtown Eastside.

The site of 722 Gore Avenue is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Union Street and Gore Avenue — on the eastern border with Vancouver’s Chinatown district adjacent to BC Housing’s Maclean Park housing complex and near the easternmost end of the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts.

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Modular structures — including indoor parking for two fire trucks — would be built on most of the 31,000 sq ft vacant site, which has long served as an informal public space with its grassy area and trees. However, for many decades, the parcel has been designated by the City as a road reserve.

722 gore avenue vancouver chinatown temporary fire hall

Site for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition:

Site for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

Design concept for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (TKA+D Architecture & Design)

Although this would technically be a temporary facility, it would remain in place for a relatively long period of between eight and 10 years to provide much-needed added capacity that supplements the existing capacity of Firehall No. 2 at 199 Main Street, located to the north within the Downtown Eastside.

Fire Hall No. 2 is severely strained due to its location, responding to very frequent calls for medical drug overdose-related incidents, fire and alarm incidents, and other SRO-related incidents.

According to Vancouver Fire Rescue, Fire Hall No. 2 is not only the busiest fire hall in Vancouver but also all of Canada. For instance, in 2021, it responded to a total of 13,544 calls due to a surge in overdoses and fires, with the team of firefighters based at the location answering up to 40 calls per day.

The temporary fire hall would remain in place until Fire Hall No. 2 achieves its long-envisioned permanent building renewal and expansion.

vancouver fire department 2023 incident distribution map

2023 map of incident distributions for Vancouver Fire Rescue. (City of Vancouver)

Site for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (TKA+D Architecture & Design)

Design concept for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (Connected Design)

Design concept for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (TKA+D Architecture & Design)

ScreenshotDesign concept for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (TKA+D Architecture & Design)

However, the Chinatown and Strathcona community assert the informal green space is used as a “thriving hub for picnics, children’s play, cyclists seeking refuge, and community gatherings,” according to a new online petition against the fire hall.

The immediate area also previously lost a large parcel of informal green space, when the Nora Hendrix Place temporary modular housing building opened in early 2019 on the informal green space next to the easternmost end of the viaducts — just kitty corner from the temporary fire hall site.

“Adjacent to the largest social housing site in British Columbia, our community consists largely of low-income families. We are deeply concerned about the proposed rezoning’s impact on social cohesion, reducing communal spaces and introducing industrial activity into our peaceful residential area,” reads the petition.

Furthermore, the fire hall would primarily serve calls within the Downtown Eastside, with suggestions that there are other locations that may be more suitable for such a facility.

Site for the temporary fire hall for Vancouver Fire Rescue at 722 Gore Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

nora hendrix place temporary modular housing vancouver viaducts hogans alley chinatown

Nora Hendrix Place temporary modular housing at the eastern end of the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts, which is envisioned to be redeveloped into a contemporary Hogan’s Alley. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

As well, the City’s recommended fire hall site is just north of the future emergency department entrance of the new St. Paul’s Hospital, which will reach completion and open in 2027.

“With a new hospital nearby and numerous vacant sites along Hastings Street, we question the necessity of disrupting our serene residential area with another industrial facility. We urge authorities to prioritize the well-being of residents and environmental conservation in urban planning,” continues the petition.

“This is not about opposing essential services but about responsible urban development that respects community connectivity and character.”

As of the time of writing, the petition already has nearly 1,000 signatures.

“This area is really important for the neighbourhood as the only green space that people living in the immediate area can use… and they do! With our increasingly hot summers, the people of our area need a place where they can get a bit of solace from the heat of all the concrete, and a bit of peace by being with trees and grass. There are other places for the firehall – like under the nearby viaduct, for example,” reads one of dozens of comments on the petition.

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