An explosion on the second floor of a single-room hotel (SRO) in downtown Vancouver Eastside has killed one person and injured two, firefighters say.
Authorities 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 Assistant Fire Chief Walter Pereira told CBC News that the explosion was probably due to a battery that was recharged in one of the apartments in the SRO building.
“[Crews] found a man from the apartment in the alley who did not react, “he said.
“Since the subsequent interrogation of the friend of the person, these are … unfortunate circumstances,” he added. “The person was obviously by the window, where he was either pushed or fell out of the window and fell to his death from the second floor.”
Two people were injured in the blast, but the fire was contained in the apartment and firefighters were able to put it out, Pereira said.
Roads around Maine and Hastings were temporarily closed as firefighters responded to the blast, but reopened shortly thereafter.
Investigators and civil engineers will be on site on Saturday to determine if the hotel is safe for future residents.
The fire comes just over a month after a fire at the nearby Winters Hotel in Gastown destroyed the restaurant and left two dead.
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