Granville Street fire causes 'extensive damage' to Samesun Hostel in Vancouver

Guests of two hotels on Vancouver's Granville Street woke up early Saturday morning to orange flames glowing out their windows and the smell of smoke engulfing their hotel rooms.

Guests of two hotels on Vancouver's Granville Street woke up early Saturday morning to orange flames glowing out their windows and the smell of smoke engulfing their hotel rooms.

More than 100 people from the Samesun Hostel and the Belmont Hotel rushed out of their suites around 2 a.m. as sprinklers and alarms went off.

“It was like an inferno,” said Gustavo, who is visiting from Brazil to attend a seminar at the University of British Columbia. He did not give his last name.

“It’s completely destroyed, flooding and lot of the ceiling is falling.”

He was staying on the second floor when he heard someone banging on his door to wake up.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Assistant Chief Pierre Morin says a vehicle in the back alley went up in flames and eventually caught the Samesun Hostel on fire.

"There was extensive fire in the building and the vehicle," he said. “It was pretty hectic.”