Authorities are investigating the source of a massive fire in Vancouver's Dunbar neighbourhood that severely damaged numerous homes and caused a crane to collapse on Tuesday evening.The blaze broke out at an unfinished apartment building on West 41st Avenue and Collingwood Street shortly before 7pm, and quickly spread. The wood-frame complex was nearly burned to the ground, and two nearby homes were rendered uninhabitable, while seven others sustained minor damage..Footage of the incident shows the crane standing amongst the plume of black smoke billowing up from the burning apartment building before tumbling down to street level.According to the CBC, no fatalities were reported, though two firefighters were injured as they battled the blaze, which was eventually contained. What sparked the fire has not been uncovered, though an investigation has been launched..Come Wednesday morning, the crane was still splayed across 41st Avenue, which was closed between Dunbar and Balaclava Streets as crews worked to clean up the scene. Police on scene said they predicted business within the impacted areas, including a Save-on-Foods, would likely be closed until at least tomorrow..As for the apartment building itself, what remained was little more than a burned out husk, residual smoke still rising into the sky. Its top floors had been entirely incinerated, with the bottom still somewhat structurally intact. A man named Jason who has lived in the neighbourhood for 30 years told the Western Standard that he was just two blocks up the street when he heard the first explosion, and high-tailed it out of there when he heard the second. "We're very lucky the neighbourhood didn't go up, that's for sure," he said, explaining that the embers were so far-reaching that the roof of his aunt's house on 38th and Highbury was hit and caught on fire."The heat creates its own wind patterns, right," Jason added, "so all that smoke and everything was blowing all the debris everywhere."
