Tent fire on the Downtown Eastside spreads to propane tanks, former event space

A tent fire on the Downtown Eastside involving multiple propane tanks quickly spread to The Imperial event space near Main and Hastings Street Sunday afternoon.

Vancouver Fire crews made short work of a tent fire that spread to The Imperial, leading to water damage at the closed down event venue.

The tent fire was sparked around 6:45 p.m. Sunday at Main and Hastings Streets.

Multiple propane tanks were discovered at the encampment but luckily no one was injured in the fire, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jarret Gray.

“Upon knocking down the fire they found seven 25 pound propane tanks. One 100 pound propane tank, the one 100 pound propane tank’s pressure relief valve was released due to extreme heat,” Gray told Global News after the fire was extinguished.

“They pulled the tanks away from the fire, cooling at the same time, noticing that The Imperial was caught into the entrance way triggering the fire sprinklers inside the building, causing water damage at that time.”

Crews went inside to shut off the sprinklers and prevent any further damage to the building.

In addition to the water damage, crews say the fire also damaged the front of the property and the awning.

“It’s very scary for not only for everybody around but  for the firefighters going in and not knowing what’s causing the black smoke and then realizing this upon the investigation,” Gray added.