Propane tanks explode inside the Downtown Eastside tent, damaging the building (with video)

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Several propane tanks exploded inside a tent on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Sunday night, sending thick black smoke into the sky and causing damage to an adjacent building.

The explosion, which occurred around 7 p.m. near the intersection of Hastings and Main Street, was caught on surveillance footage and posted to YouTube by user Scott Gilbert.

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In the video, an initial explosion can be seen at the 1:14 mark, engulfing the store in flames. A second explosion occurs about a minute later as the fire spreads to the building.

A third, fourth, and fifth explosions occur about a minute later, as a Vancouver police car pulls up on the scene.

Fire crews then arrive within two minutes of the initial explosion.

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Vancouver Fire Service Assistant. Chief Jarret Gray said crews quickly put out the fire, which burned several tents and caused damage to the adjacent Imperial Building, which originally opened in 1974 and changed ownership in 2018.

The fire spread to the boarded-up entrance to the building and activated the internal sprinkler system.

“The fire did not enter the building as crews quickly knocked it down, but the sprinklers went off inside the building, causing extensive water damage inside the building,” Gray said.

Crews then went in and turned off the sprinkler system.

Inside the store, crews found seven 25-pound propane tanks and one 100-pound propane tank, which was in the middle of the fire with its pressure release valve open, actively releasing propane.

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There were no known injuries and no one on scene to discuss the fire, the contents of the store, or the fire itself.

The fire was the fourth tent fire in the past week in the area.

A woman was found dead in Hastings Street last Sunday after a fire in a tent was extinguished.

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— with archive of Joe Ruttle and Cheryl Chan

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