Fire crews were called to the Silverlynn Apartments on East 27th Street shortly after 6 a.m., following reports of smoke and flames in two third-floor units.
One resident died in a fire at a Lynn Valley senior housing complex, the North Vancouver RCMP confirmed, and dozens of seniors were displaced from their homes.
Crews from the District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services were called to the Silverlynn Apartments on East 27th Street shortly after 6 a.m. on Tuesday (May 31), following reports of smoke and flames in two units on the third flat.
“Despite the heroic efforts of firefighters and other first responders, we are sadly now in the early stages of an investigation, in partnership with the BC Coroner’s Service, into the death of a person,” said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP in a statement.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the North Vancouver RCMP was investigating the death to determine if any crime was involved. Fire investigators also arrived to support the RCMP and began work to determine the cause of the fatal fire.
The building has 82 units subsidized by BC Housing, 71 of which were occupied at the time, Assistant Fire Chief Wayne Kennedy said.
“Obviously we had a lot of people and occupants that we had to deal with in terms of evacuating them from the building, so a lot of our workforce was dealing with moving people to a safer location while other crews were dealing with the fire in both units,” he said.
It is not yet clear how long residents will be out of their homes. Firefighters and insurance professionals will need to investigate the rest of the structure before it is known what repairs are required and when it will be safe for residents to move back in.
“We have extensive damage to one, if not both units that were involved in the fire and then obviously we’re going to have some smoke damage to any of the units that are close by, and some water damage underneath. he said. “Right now, we have emergency services in place who are doing a great job of taking care of all the displaced occupants.”
Emergency support services provide 72 hours of temporary shelter, clothing and food for people displaced by disasters.
The North Vancouver RCMP Crisis Intervention Team has also been called to the scene to provide support.
“This is really a tragedy,” DeVries said. “Fortunately, this community has excellent supports to care for those affected by this fire. But our hearts today especially go out to the family and friends of the person who lost their life.”
No details about the victim were released on Tuesday, while family members were notified by the RCMP.
The 1979 building is owned and managed by the non-profit Lowland Senior Citizens’ Housing Society.
In 2021, residents of the building publicly complained that it was falling into disrepair and unsafe. BC Housing subsequently provided funding for renovations, some of which had already begun.
North Vancouver-Seymour NDP MLA Susie Chant said she had kept in touch with residents of the building to see that the work was being done.
“I am very sad,” he said. “Certainly our condolences go out to the friends and family of the deceased… There is a pretty strong community there and other people will be distraught. We’ll see if there’s anything we can do to help.”
BC Housing did not respond to a request for comment by North Shore News’ deadline on Tuesday.
Reference-www.nsnews.com