Shaughnessy heritage mansion destroyed by fire
Early morning blaze takes 12 trucks and 55 firefighters battling hot spots to contain
A vacant heritage mansion in Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood was destroyed by a fire that took more than 50 firefighters to extinguish early Sunday morning.
The house featured five bedrooms and over 9,790 square-feet of living space.
The home and property is protected from demolition under the First Shaughnessy Heritage Conservation Area, a City of Vancouver policy to protect pre-1940s homes in the area.
Vancouver historian John Atkin said it’s a shame the well-maintained and carefully restored home has been badly damaged.
Atkin called it an “important part of the Angus Drive streetscape.”
“It’s hard to retain heritage in the city and fire like this doesn’t help,” Atkin said. “The updates were in character and done with respect. It was a good example of retention and updates.”
Atkin said under the city’s policy to protect heritage homes in Shaughnessy, a home could be demolished if over 60 per cent of it is damaged by fire. If the damage is to less than 60 per cent of the home then the policy states that it should be retained.
The fire was first reported to Vancouver Fire and Rescue around 2:45 a.m. Sunday. Flames from the three-alarm blaze were already “through the roof ” of the home when crews arrived, which made it difficult to get under control, said Asst. Fire Chief Dan Stroup.
A total of 55 firefighters and 12 rigs were called in to battle the fire. The last of the crews finally left the site just before 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We had crews on scene all day looking for hot spots,” said Stroup, who could not comment on whether the fire is suspicious.
CTV reported the fire was suspicious because of the large amount of damage to the heritage home and the difficulty crews had putting the fire out because it seemed the fire began in several locations throughout the house.
There were no injuries and the fire was contained to the one property. An adjacent home sustained only minor water damage.
In 2013, the home was sold after being listed for $13.7 million. Last year, the home was assessed at a value of $14 million and earlier this year, it was again listed for sale.
A rental listing for the home was also found online. The home was listed as available to rent for $12,000 a month.