Homeless in Vancouver: Dramatic early-morning fire hits West Broadway restaurant

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      Fire broke out early this morning (December 23) on the northwest corner of Granville Street and West Broadway Avenue.

      This tied up westbound traffic at the start of rush hour as fire truck after fire truck answered the call to fight the growing blaze.

      At 7:26 a.m. the first two Vancouver Fire and Rescue trucks responded to the two storey brick building at 1521 West Broadway

      There, a small amount of smoke could be seen coming out both the front and back of the ground-floor restaurant Bob Likes Thai Food.

      A view of the comparatively small amount of smoke coming out of the ground floor restaurant at 7:35 a.m.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      Fast-growing who-knows-how-many alarm fire

      Less than half an hour later, by 7:41 a.m., smoke was billowing out into West Broadway from both the first and second floors of 1521 West Broadway and firefighters could be seen fighting the blaze from both the street side and alley sides of the building.

      By 7:39 a.m. smoke was pouring into the street from both storeys of the narrow building.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      The arrival, at 7:41 a.m, of a ladder truck meant that there were at least 10 fire and rescue vehicles on the scene, along with a small army of firefighters.

      The view in the 1500 block of West Broadway looking east as another fire truck arrived at 7:37 a.m.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      By 8:05 a.m., as daylight prevailed, smoke could no longer be seen coming out of the building.

      The fire trucks were joined by an B.C. Hydro bucket truck and an ambulance.

      Large volumes of smoke pouring from the fire at 7:40 a.m., as seen from the corner of Granville.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      According to the Vancouver Sun, there were no injuries and the fire. Vancouver Fire and Rescue assistant chief Dave Rosenlund said it was largely contained to the restaurant, with “extensive fire and smoke damage” to the kitchen.

      Additionally there was some “minor damage” to the utility room of the BitNational bitcoin business upstairs from the restaurant at 1525 West Broadway.

      The last of nine or 10 fire trucks arrived on scene at 7:41 a.m.
      Stanley Q. Woodvine

      At 9:22 a.m. the last ladder truck to arrive was still on the scene but westbound traffic on West Broadway was moving smoothly around the remaining fire and rescue presence, helped along by community policing officers and transit supervisors.

      Bob Likes Thai has been at 1521 West Broadway since at least 2015, according to an ad in the Westender newspaper that year. It replaced Go Fish, which, in 2011, replaced Bin 492.

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