Some historic businesses along Hastings Street in Vancouver went up in flames on Wednesday morning.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services was called to the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood around 4 a.m. after reports of a structure fire on East Hastings near Garden Drive.
More than 40 firefighters responded to the blaze.
“Upon arrival the fire was growing extensively and rapidly from structures into adjacent properties,” Matthew Trudeau, the public information officer with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, told Global News.
He said three businesses are affected and seven people have been displaced.
“These are older structures that are wood, a lot of them have void spaces inside.”
Smoke could be smelled across the city and Trudeau said people should keep their windows and doors closed.
Hastings Street was closed between Nanaimo Street and Lakewood Drive for hours but has since reopened.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Tom Pedriks, the creative director of Wohlford & Company, formally known as Dayton Boots, said he is mostly worried about his staff members if they have to close for a while.
“It’s a historic building, it’s been operating for 75 years, so there’s a lot of equipment in there that’s probably irreplaceable,” he said.
“Obviously it’s wet so there’s a lot of rebuilding to do.”
Pedriks said there is a lot of wood inside the building, describing it as a “tinder box.”
Dayton Boots has operated its East Vancouver factory store since 1946.
“There is a deep history and involvement with the community with Dayton and now Wohlford,” Pedriks added.
“Unfortunately this happened and we’ll have to rebuild.”
The fire appears to have damaged The Indian Chefs restaurant and Windsor Meats.