Photo: @Karen_Fry/Twitter. Dozens of people have been displaced and at least one person is in hospital after an early morning explosion set fire to three buildings in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Around 4 a.m. Aug. 22, a fire broke out between two buildings on Powell Street near Princess Avenue. According to Assistant Fire Chief Pierre Morin, there was an explosion outside that blew out windows and ignited the fire in the first two buildings and eventually spread to a third. An hour after the fire, the Vancouver Fire Department managed to evacuate everyone inside the buildings. Morin says there are at least 40 people displaced right now. Fortunately only one person was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation. Two of the three buildings have been rendered uninhabitable due to smoke and water damage, he adds. The cause of the fire is still unknown, and Morin says the scene is currently under three feet of water, so it will be a few days before Vancouver Fire Rescue has a clear idea. Traffic remains blocked on Powell Street between Heatley and Jackson.
