The cause of the fire that destroyed the Value Village on Hastings Street in Vancouver Wednesday night remains under investigation.
Firefighters were called to the thrift store on East Hastings Street near Victoria Drive at around 10pm and it was already fully engulfed.
“The amount of flames coming out of it suggests there is a large amount of fuel inside,” Matthew Trudeau, public information officer for Vancouver Fire and Rescue, said Thursday.
It became a three-alarm blaze with 47 firefighters deployed.
Firefighters remained on the scene Thursday, putting out hot spots and suffocating smoke still rising from the rubble.
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Three to five people were displaced by heat and water damage to nearby buildings, but Trudeau said they should be able to return to their homes soon.
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“Our teams did an incredible job of getting here quickly, settling in at all four corners, making sure the exposure was protected so it didn’t spread,” he added.
The building did collapse, and Trudeau said it was “unusual” to see a fire like that developing, even as crews arrived on the scene.
He added that there was smoke throughout the city and advised residents to keep their windows closed.
There are currently no reports of injuries, Trudeau confirmed.
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