On Thursday, July 27 at approximately 8:30 p.m. a fire broke out at 414 East 10th Avenue’s three-storey building, housing 70 residents. The fire started on the third floor of the building and spread quickly —flames engulfed the roof and then traveled to the second and first floors of the building. According to the tenants, the fire alarms were faulty and went off frequently. As the flames ripped through the infrastructure, many residents didn’t immediately start to exit until their neighbours started to shout and bang on their doors. This time, it wasn’t a false alarm.

More than 20 fire safety violations and other potentially life threatening conditions were recorded by city fire inspectors in November of 2022. The building owners and landlords, Henry Fu Ren and Feng Yan, breached compliance according to CTV news but did not fix the issues and bylaws were not followed up on. 

Safety violations at the Mount Pleasant apartment building included broken smoke detectors in suites, blocked fire exits in the parkade, expired fire extinguishers, live combustible wires and no sprinklers. 

In response to the evacuation, a newly homeless resident of 414 E 10th Ave. expressed his concern for the lack of accountability from city inspectors. “Fire inspections came to my unit multiple times and saw that I didn’t have a proper system, and they just didn’t care,” says Hunter Watt. “They moved onto the next unit and kept on walking.” Watt has since been helping his fellow neighbours by organizing moving vans. 

In addition to fire hazards, the building was heavily unkempt with black mold, broken windows, rat and mice infestations and leaking, damp bathrooms. Fu Ren’s responses to tenant complaints and reports were to board up and paint over mold, duct tape damp spots or simply ignore the reports leaving it to residents to pay for repairs out of pocket without reimbursements.

Under his LLC, Henry Prosperous Property LLC, Fu Ren owns rental properties in Washington, and more in Vancouver. The Tyee reported that Fu Ren has a recorded history of house fires on other rental properties they’ve owned. Fu Ren and Yan currently live in a multi-million dollar property in Vancouver’s Oakridge neighbourhood. 

In an interview with Loose Lips, Taylor Calhoun, a tenant who just reached her first anniversary living in the building, details the precarious environment her fellow tenants lived in. 

“[Our landlords] did nothing to keep us safe. There were constant band-aid fixes, even knowing that the building was old. He was not compensating tenants for things the landlord should cover. My mailbox had to be rekeyed and I paid out of pocket, [he even bolted] the exits in the carpark! He knew he was putting us in danger and just didn’t care,” she says. 

Calhoun expresses that Fu Ren’s concerning behaviour continued even in the aftermath of the fire. “You don’t need to be anxious,” was his response when he attempted to change the confirmed date and time of restoration access to her belongings. Upon insistence, Fu Ren did eventually arrive. 

Khursheed Ali Syed and his partner lived on the third floor of the scorched Mount Pleasant building. The day before the fire they experienced a safety violation and unpleasant interaction with the landlord. Syed’s pregnant wife was home alone when Fu Ren tried opening their front door without scheduling a visit or contacting them prior to. 

“My wife is pregnant and she was inside [when the fire broke out]. She got rescued from the balcony. We are very thankful to the fire department team,” shares Syed. 

The Vancouver Fire department was able to remove all tenants from the burning building on July 27, including pets–scooping up 18 rabbits and numerous dogs and cats, with one cat sadly passing away. 

It has been reported that residents have been unable to retain their damage deposits. Some residents have received payment via Interac e-transfer, but others are still waiting on a cheque.  Tenants say that their damage deposits are received without interest which is required according to B.C. tenancy law. The aftermath of the fire has brought the tenants closer together — they’ve even created a WhatsApp group to help circulate updates, research and support.

Resident Francois St. Jacques has been lighting up the WhatsApp group with concerns over the damage deposit dispute. 

“I got my damage and pet deposits [but to do so] I had to find the paperwork in my text [messages] and show him three times. No interest was paid. The first cheque was the wrong amount, so he scribbled on the cheque and my bank wouldn’t take it. I went back and he gave me a second one with the wrong name on it, and scratched that name out and put my name instead. I said [that was unacceptable] and wouldn’t let his Tesla out until he gave me a proper cheque. My bank was very suspicious and the cheque was on hold for three to five days,” shares St. Jacques.

The city provided Emergency Support Services for tenants for 72 hours up to August 2. This consisted of temporary housing, giftcards, food referral ($67.50), clothing referral ($150) and drip feed options for those who are most vulnerable. 

The community also came together. Donation stands cropped up around the neighbourhood to help supplement needs that were not met by ESS. Housing assistance has been extended to August 16, but the message from officials delivered to residents via email was firm.

“Lastly, please continue your search for housing,” the email reads. “A reminder that ESS services are short term only and expire on Wednesday, August 16th.” 

Some residents have faced trouble with the referrals, including one who is temporarily in Surrey. Their food and clothing referral was turned away at the Real Canadian Superstore located at 7550 King George Boulevard. She was forced to go back the following day with family for support to ensure she received food and clothing.

The fire at 414 East 10th Avenue adds salt to the wound of Vancouver’s ongoing affordable housing crisis. Tenants who live in buildings that are owned by negligent landlords are often forced to take their concerns to the Rental Tenancy Branch (RTB), but that means enduring long wait times for a dispute hearing, keeping renters in precarious, unsafe living conditions, facing mental and physical health deterioration, exploitation, insecurity and in extreme cases, death. 

Fu Ren and Yan are due to appear in court on August 15.

A donation stand at Kingsgate Mall, 370 E Broadway is currently in operation to help the survivors. Resident Hunter Watt has been using his own money to pay for moving vans, any amount to him would be appreciated with auto-deposit e-transfer at: Watthunter9@gmail.com.