East Vancouver apartment fire displaces more than a dozen tenants

WATCH: Dozens of people have been forced from their homes, after a Vancouver apartment building went up in flames. Nadia Stewart reports.

The owner of an East Vancouver apartment building says it’s a “miracle” some of his tenants escaped an early morning fire.

The two-alarm blaze broke out at a three-storey building on 13th Ave. and Quebec St. early Saturday morning. Four people had to be rescued from balconies by firefighters, including Steve Ikac who says he couldn’t navigate the hallways in his building because of the smoke.

“What we gonna do? I wait a little bit and after that, I just couldn’t get out on the other side. So the firefighters, they come in and put the step ladder from top floor and I come down.”

Crews managed to confine the flames to a second-floor apartment, although several suites in the building suffered smoke and water damage.

The building’s owner, Rob Frith, says he arrived on scene shortly after the fire started after receiving calls from some of his tenants. He says the extent of the damage is overwhelming.

“Everything’s black inside. There’s not one thing that isn’t toasted in that place. You just can’t believe that anything can happen that fast,” he says. “I mean it’s just an absolute miracle that in the suite where it happened, the people made it out.”

A spokesperson with the City of Vancouver says some of the displaced residents are being sheltered at a nearby hotel, while many others are staying with friends and family.

Late Saturday morning, BC Hydro crews arrived to restore power to some of the units in the building. However, residents will not be allowed to return until it is safe, particularly in the units most affected by the fire. Frith says he hopes to know by early next week when all the tenants can return.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, though Firth says there are some early indications as to what the cause could have been.

“It was an accidental thing and the fire department, I think they said it was a candle.”