BC Coroner’s Inquest Jury Begins Deliberations About Deadly Winters Hotel Fire

Debris falls to the ground as demolition resumes on the Winters Hotel after a body was found in the single room occupancy (SRO) building, in Vancouver, B.C., on April 22, 2022. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

A coroner’s inquest jury looking into the Winters Hotel fire that killed two people in Vancouver two years ago was stood down on Feb. 2 to deliberate potential recommendations to avoid similar deaths.

For two weeks, the inquest heard evidence about the fire that killed residents Mary Ann Garlow and Dennis Guay, including testimony that the sprinkler system wasn’t operating because of a smaller fire three days earlier.