'it's a miracle no one got hurt:' east vancouver fire hits small businesses hard
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faye smith was driving through east vancouver on sunday when she saw smoke. as she got closer, she realized the fire was consuming the building where her husband, brandon hart, had built his livelihood — a decades-old quonset hut on east hastings street that housed his photography studio, equipment and years of professional work.
“i called my husband right away and told him to call his landlords. no one had a clue,” smith told postmedia news.
the wood-framed, metal roofed building at 1736 east hastings st. was city-owned and built in 1949, according to vancouver fire rescue services. according to smith, it had no sprinklers, smoke detectors or designated fire exits.
“it’s a miracle no one got hurt,” smith said.
by the time firefighters brought the blaze under control, with a total of eight trucks and 36 firefighters, flames had already gutted the building’s contents, said deputy fire chief trevor connelly. crews arrived following a report made just after 3 p.m. to find the fire heavily involved at the front of the building.
the blaze destroyed the studios, leaving several small business owners, including a wedding florist, makeup artists, photographers and visual artists with nothing but charred debris and the task of rebuilding from scratch.
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connelly said the building’s interior was divided into multiple rooms, some of which were used for storage. he described the structure as “a total loss,” estimating damages at $1.5 million. no one was inside at the time, and there were no injuries.
the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
the property is zoned for mixed commercial and industrial use, according to a 2024 city of vancouver report. it’s part of a five-building land assembly in grandview-woodland planned for future non-market housing. two buildings were already fire-damaged and marked for demolition. the site was expected to remain leased until rezoning and redevelopment began. b.c. assessment values the lot at about $2.9 million.
on tuesday, smith and hart spent hours sorting through the burnt remains of the studio, trying to salvage items like hard drives, but found little recoverable. hart estimated losses of more than $100,000 in photography equipment.
the family also lost a storage unit containing most of their condo’s contents, which had been staged for sale.
“we also lost all of lockelee’s clothing, toys and so many of the little essentials that make daily life with a toddler possible — all of it is gone,” smith shared on her blog, referring to the couple’s daughter.
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hart has been relying on borrowed equipment and temporary studio space to fulfil scheduled photo gigs.
eastside studios sublets the city-owned building’s spaces to tenants, according to morgan churla, owner of the wednesday wedding co.
churla shared a central studio in the building with wedding florist de la flore designs. the space was a hub for meeting clients and storing sentimental decor items. she said most were destroyed in sunday’s blaze.
“i had to call a few couples and tell them their wedding items were destroyed. that was just devastating.”
churla said that following the fire she asked a fire chief at the scene whether her studio’s building had smoke alarms, only to learn that its fire safety system was linked to the neighbouring property.
“we trusted our landlord and believed the space was fit for occupancy. but after the fire, we realized just how vulnerable the building was,” she said.
churla also spoke about continuing problems, including rats and electrical issues that had gone unresolved in the building, despite complaints to the landlord.
“losing the studio means losing our home base,” she said. “that rundown building felt like a jackpot when we got it. just knowing we won’t likely be able to afford another space is heartbreaking. we creatives have nowhere else to go.”
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gofundme campaigns have been launched to support tenants affected by the fire, most of whom didn’t have business insurance. one campaign, created by eight tenants, had raised more than $4,700 by wednesday afternoon. hart’s individual fundraiser surpassed $18,500 during that same time.
capt. matthew trudeau, information officer with vancouver fire rescue services, said that unless there is a change in building use, major renovation or property sale that triggers a safety review by the city, under current regulations, older buildings are only required to have unobstructed exits and fire extinguishers.
“there isn’t much required in terms of fire safety for an old one-storey small business because activities inside typically don’t pose a high safety risk.”
in a statement, the city of vancouver said the last inspection of the building was carried out in 2023 and there were no fire or life safety issues found. the absence of sprinklers and smoke detectors was “consistent with the building’s age, type and non-residential use,” the city said.
the statement went on to say: “the city had a commercial tenancy with eastside flea inc., which requires the tenant to be responsible for insurance coverage, repairs and maintenance. we are exploring opportunities to support impacted artists, including connecting them to city-owned and non-city-owned spaces.”
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trudeau noted that sunday’s fire marks one of five major blazes within a two-block radius in recent years, including at value village, dayton boots and a former single-resident occupancy hotel beside the pink pearl restaurant.
a fire destroys a mixed-use building at 1736 east hastings st. on sunday, sept. 28, 2025.
courtesy of faye smith
faye smith and husband brandon hart with their daughter lockelee.
courtesy of faye smith
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