No injuries reported but four homes damaged in early morning blaze in Vancouver

VANCOUVER – Four homes in one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods have been damaged in an early morning fire.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Capt. Jonathan Gormick says the first calls came in just before 6 a.m., and firefighters arrived in the Strathcona neighbourhood to find four homes involved.

He says a vacant house where the fire started has been gutted and crews found a hoarding situation in a badly damaged home next door, so they haven’t been able to confirm if anyone was inside.

The other two homes on the block have damage to their upper floors, but Gormick says no injuries have been reported.

The gutted house, which was once an 1880s heritage home, had been partially rebuilt after a fire in 2008, but stood unfinished for years.

Gormick says it’s likely that the latest blaze was sparked by squatters.

In 2006, four homes and a food warehouse on the block were torched in separate fires that Vancouver police said were the work of a serial arsonist. (The Canadian Press, Global)