A Vancouver police officer rescued a man during a fire in a Downtown Eastside rooming house early Tuesday.
According to Vancouver police spokesman Const. Darren Wong, a police sergeant patrolling the block of East Hastings Street at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 6 was flagged down in front of the Dodson Rooms single-room occupancy hotel due to a fire.
The Dodson Rooms building was built in 1907 and contains 71 rooms for people at risk of homelessness. It’s managed by the Community Builders Benevolence Society.
Wong said the police sergeant grabbed a fire extinguisher from his patrol car, entered the building and dashed up to a second-floor suite filled with smoke due to a mattress fire.
“After extinguishing the fire, the officer pulled an unresponsive man from the smoke-filled room. Two other VPD officers then assisted the sergeant to safety, as he was being overcome by smoke.”
Wong said the rescued man was treated at the scene by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and B.C. Ambulance Service workers, then taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The sergeant was treated for smoke inhalation and is recovering at home.
VFRS Chief Karen Fry said the officer’s actions “definitely led to a positive outcome for this resident.”
The mattress fire is believed to have been caused by a torch lighter.
The Community Builders Benevolence Society is one of several non-profit agencies that manage social housing on behalf of the government. Records show the society manages 15 buildings.
Last financial year the agency received $28 million in funding, of which 66 per cent was paid to 211 workers. Its chief executive earned between $250,000 and $300,000.
