Flames ripped through a seniors housing facility in North Vancouver Saturday morning, blanketing the North Shore with smoke as neighbours banged on doors and climbed scaffolding to alert residents to the danger. Zak Klein was one of the people who called 911 shortly after the fire broke out around 9 a.m. at Silverlynn Apartments on East 27th Street. He and neighbour Russell Ward told CTV News they first heard a woman screaming, then saw the smoke pouring from the three-storey building. “There was a lady on the second floor who Russ and I just tried to comfort and calm her down,” Klein said. They tried to use a ladder to reach her, but were unable to do so, he said, adding that firefighters soon arrived at the scene to complete the rescue. Other residents were also still inside when firefighters arrived. “We tried to do the rounds of the perimeter and clap, shout, yell to try and get any attention of anyone who was potentially in there,” Klein said. It was during this effort that he climbed the scaffolding to knock on windows and make sure no one was still inside units on the second floor. “It was small flames to start with, but it went so fast,” said Ward. “It’s scary how quick it moved.” 5 treated, 2 taken to hospital Firefighters were at the scene for most of the day Saturday, as the blaze continued to burn. District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Chief Mike Danks said he expected crews to continue fighting hot spots into the night. “This has been a very tough day for our community,” said Danks, who said even parts of the building unaffected by flames have been damaged by smoke and water and may be uninhabitable. He said crews from his department were joined by firefighters from West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver in responding to the blaze. “Crews made entry and encountered extreme heat upon going in the building,” Danks said, explaining that the fire was made more intense by the fact that the structure was under construction. “The top floor of this building had no drywall, so it was just in framing, at that point, and that leads to very rapid fire spread.” The fire was most intense in the part of the building that was under construction, which was unoccupied. The other part of the building – which was recently renovated – had residents living in it, but Danks said firefighters had accounted for everyone. “They are all safe, as far as we know, so that’s very positive news for us,” the fire chief said. He said firefighters rescued 10 people from balconies. Five people received treatment from B.C. Emergency Health Services at the scene, and two of those were taken to hospital with minor injuries, according to Danks. Smoke from the fire prompted the evacuation of the neighbouring Craftsman Estates, according to North Shore Emergency Management, which has set up a reception centre for displaced residents at Westlynn Baptist Church, located at 1341 E. 27th St. The agency asked the public to avoid the area of the blaze. Metro Vancouver said in a social media post that it is “closely watching the situation and monitoring air quality.” Previous blaze was fatal This is the second time in the last three years that Silverlynn Apartments has been engulfed in flames. A previous fire that broke out on May 31, 2022, killed one resident and displaced 70. Mac Ward, who lives in the area, said the building has been undergoing renovations since the previous blaze. “For the last two years, they’ve been rebuilding it, and they had just kind of finished it, and now it’s just burned down completely,” he said. “Like, (the damage) is 100 times worse than the last time.”
