"Destroyed beyond salvation": Fundraisers launched after devastating Gastown fire

Days after a devastating fire destroyed a building in Gastown, two fundraisers have now been launched to help those impacted.

The first GoFundMe was started by the Gastown Business Improvement Association to help raise funds for “merchants and staff of local businesses who are in urgent need of assistance.”

According to the GoFundMe, “At 11:15 am on Monday, April 11, a fire broke out on the 200 block of Abbott Street. Several businesses have been destroyed beyond salvation. Others have been forced to close due to the site not being safe.”

“Our conversations with the impacted businesses have been devastating, and any donations made in these challenging times could go a long way. All requests will be collected by our office, vetted by a subcommittee of the GBIS Board, and then funds will be distributed to the businesses,” reads the post.

The second fundraiser was started by a local business owner whose ground-floor shop, Nika Designs, considered a staple of the community since 2007, was devastated by the fire and will need to relocate permanently.

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The Flying Pig restaurant was also impacted and posted on Instagram, thanking everyone who reached out to the restaurant, saying no staff were hurt in the fire. It confirmed the restaurant would remain closed at the fire department’s order and encouraged concerned customers to donate supplies to help the displaced SRO residents.

On Monday, crews were called to the Water and Abbott Streets area after a fire broke out at the four-storey Winters Hotel at 203 Abbott Street. The fire shrouded the community in thick plumes of smoke. Several people had to be rescued, and five others were taken to hospital.

Gastown fire/Daily Hive

On Tuesday, officials with the City of Vancouver provided an update on the situation, saying a single-room-occupancy hotel that houses some of the city’s most vulnerable residents will need demolishing following the four-alarm fire this week.

“It was a very vivid and dynamic scene. We had worried family members on scene looking for their loved ones,” Vancouver’s Fire Chief, Karen Fry. “The impact on [residents] is going to be very traumatic.”

Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire started on the second floor and moved up from there. Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause and what exactly happened.

The fire caused the roof to collapse, and although the brick exterior was still standing, the interior was completely charred.

Jordan Saniuk/Submitted

Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the scene and stayed overnight to distinguish hot spots.