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Fire breaks out in building housing Kitsilano’s popular Topanga Cafe

A fire in a popular Vancouver restaurant forced nearby tenants from their homes with little more than the clothes on their backs. Jill Bennett reports – Jul 5, 2018

The cause of a fire that gutted businesses and two apartments in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood Thursday morning is still under investigation.

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Flames broke out around West 4th Avenue and MacDonald Street early Thursday morning, closing that portion of West 4th Avenue.

Officials said when fire crews arrived just before 6 a.m., flames were coming through the roof of a building which houses both residential and commercial properties including the Topanga Cafe, a very popular Mexican restaurant, and a foot reflexology business.

It also appears the fire spread to an appliance store next door.

All three businesses appear to be destroyed.

The fire was aggressive and hard to access, according to fire officials. Nearby residents told Global News, everyone who lives in the units above got out safely, but some said they lost everything.

“I thought we were just leaving to get out of the building because the fire alarm was going so I didn’t grab as much as I would have if I would have known that is what was happening,” resident Bronwen Smith said.

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“It hadn’t reached our hallway, we could smell a bit of smoke but when we initially got out at five this morning, we didn’t know until we went to the back of the building and saw the flames.”

Smith said she could smell a bit of smoke when they initially left their home around 5 a.m., but they didn’t realize how big the fire was until they went to the back of the building and saw the flames.

“I didn’t have any indication that we would lose everything today when we saw the flames in the back I thought, ‘Oh they’ll be able to just get that out,’ but clearly the way the fire was moving, they couldn’t,” Smith said.

“It’s all gone now, all of it,” she added.

Sophie Bakos said she’s worked at the Topanga Cafe for four years and was devastated by the loss.

“I basically met my family there, so many friends there. None of us know what to do. So many friends, so many memories there. It’s not just a restaurant, it’s our people,” Bakos said.

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“It’s been here for 40 years, all of our customers are locals and regulars so I’m sure they’re devastated too. It’s just really sad,” she sadded.

“The flames were coming through the roof upon [crews] arriving,” Asst. Dep. Chief Martin Paulson with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services told Global News. “We feel that everyone’s been evacuated safely from the building.”

While pedestrians can now access the West 4th Avenue sidewalk on the north side, the road was still blocked in both directions between MacDonald and Balaclava as of 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Fire crews are expected to be on scene most of the day.

Water is pouring down West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano Thursday as crews battle a big fire nearby. Credit: Jamie Myers.
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~ With files from Jill Bennett

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