Winters Hotel demolition completed after fatal fire at Gastown SRO
Crews completed demolition of the Winters Hotel Wednesday evening after a devastating fire burned through the Gastown building earlier this month.
The blaze broke out on April 11, sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky that was visible all the way from the North Shore. It’s thought the fire started from an unattended candle that was burning on the second floor of the single-room-occupancy hotel.
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Firefighters found two bodies inside the charred building and demolition was paused while police and the coroner’s service began an investigation into what happened. The identities of the people who died have not been released.
The demolished Winters Hotel seen from above. (Daily Hive Vancouver)
The City of Vancouver sent out a news release Wednesday evening saying the last parts of the building were taken down by 6 pm. Crews are now working to clean up the area and reopen Water Street.
The demolition of the 203 Abbott Street (Winters Hotel) building is complete. Demolition equipment finished leveling the last areas of the building at 6 PM today. Work is now underway to clean up the area around the site and to reopen Water Street. 1/2
— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) April 28, 2022
Demolition work started on April 21 and the City thanked residents and businesses for being patient during the week filled with noise, dust, and closed roads.
“This was a complex and challenging undertaking involving a fire-damaged structure that shared a wall with a neighbouring building, an area power outage, site security, and significant road closures,” the City said.
Crews were still at the demolition site Thursday morning. (Daily Hive Vancouver)
Atira, which operated the SRO at the Winters Hotel and neighbouring Gastown Hotel, has found temporary housing for the 100+ residents who were displaced by the fire.
The materials of the demolished Winters Hotel will remain there for two weeks — as is provincial regulation. The property owner is responsible for assessing their contents and coming up with a clean-up plan. Fencing will remain in place around the demolished building, and part of the sidewalk may be closed.
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