Homeless camp fire disrupts SkyTrain, sends black smoke through downtown
'All the plastic created quite a spectacular smoke column,' said Assistant Fire Chief Dale Booth
An out-of-control fire in an underground homeless camp sent smoke billowing through the West Hastings and Burrard area of downtown Vancouver, temporarily halting Expo Line SkyTrain traffic between Waterfront and Stadium stations.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Dale Booth said the fire broke out near the SkyTrain tunnel at Cordova and Burrard streets.
"There's a lot of homeless campers live in that area, because it's covered," said Booth. "Some personal belongings caught fire and spread to a few other personal belongings, and all the plastic created quite a spectacular smoke column."
Booth says the fire was put out quickly by crews. No one was injured, and there was minimal damage.
Vancouver fire prevention officers were on scene hoping to figure out ways to mitigate future fires from breaking out.
Smoke in the SkyTrain tunnel has cleared and trains are back to normal operations.