Fire forces evacuation of downtown Vancouver restaurant

A fire during the dinner rush forced a downtown Vancouver restaurant to be evacuated Thursday night.

Crews were called to Elisa Wood-Fired Grill on Homer Street around 8 p.m. and arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the roof.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Assistant Chief Pierre Morin told CTV News firefighters believe the blaze started in the restaurant’s cook vent system, though what caused it to ignite remains unknown.

“They found fire on the roof, in the cook vent system and in the air handling system, with a little bit that spread to the roof,” Morin said.

Seven trucks and more than 30 firefighters responded and were able to quickly extinguish the blaze. There were no reported injuries, Morin said.