No injuries after bricks crumble from vacant building onto Vancouver sidewalk

Firefighters say it’s lucky no one was hurt when a large number of bricks fell onto a Main Street sidewalk from an abandoned building, Friday.

Police and fire crews were called to 928 Main Street, just south of the Georgia Viaduct just after 4 p.m. to reports of a potential building collapse.

Police and city crews set up barricades blocking northbound traffic outside the two-storey building as it underwent a structural inspection.

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Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Battalion Chief Randy Boruck said the load of bricks came down on a bench used by smokers from an adjacent bar and rooming house.

“Had there been people out there, foot traffic, the amount of debris, the height it came down from, the volume and the weight of it, there could have been some injuries there, but thankfully not today,” he said.

“We were very lucky.”

Boruck said the city’s chief building inspector had ordered that the building will need to be torn down Friday for safety reasons.

He said traffic on Main Street would likely be affected  until near midnight.