By Canadian Press

Man died in Christmas Day tent fire in downtown Vancouver

Dec 27, 2023 | 12:01 PM

VANCOUVER — A man has died in a Christmas Day tent blaze in downtown Vancouver, with the fire service saying a crew arrived to find the man still on fire.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services say they responded to a call of a tent and possibly a person on fire at around 9 a.m. Monday.

Emergency crews and police responding to the scene near Canada Place found the man had already died from his injuries.

Acting Assistant Chief of Operations for the fire rescue service Geoff Clark says there were no other injuries from the incident.

No additional details on the cause of the fire or the victim’s identity have been released.

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Clark says the victim and the tent were both still partially ablaze when crews arrived.

“When crews arrived, they found a gentleman who had succumbed to his injuries, was deceased and still partly on fire and partly smouldering,” he says. 

“So they put him out with a fire extinguisher and then continued to put out the tent fire.”

Environment Canada data shows temperatures on Christmas Eve reached a low of minus-1.1 degree Celsius, and the temperature on Christmas Day morning hovered between 5 and 7 degrees.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press