Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / The site of the former Portal homeless shelter at 46293 Yale Road east of downtown Chilliwack. The building may have been burned overnight after a couple Chilliwack residents reported a possible fire at the site. A smell of charred materials could be detected from the front of the building early Tuesday morning.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Downtown Portal building

Former Portal homeless shelter on Yale Road possibly burned early Tuesday morning

Dec 27, 2022 | 9:14 AM

CHILLIWACK — The former site of the Portal homeless shelter just east of downtown Chilliwack has been boarded up for what seems like an indefinite duration.

And while it was never a desirable sight to behold once the shelter closed, the condition of the building has gone from bad to even worse following a small fire early Tuesday morning (Dec. 27).

Chris Wilson, an assistant fire chief for the Chilliwack Fire Department, confirmed in a phone call Tuesday that a single fire engine from Hall No. 1 (Cheam Avenue) attended 46293 Yale Road around midnight early Tuesday morning for what he called a small fire. He said there was minor smoke inside the building but no structural damage. He said that he believes the building is under renovation.

Indeed, an orange building permit sticker (City of Chilliwack, BP No. 034028) was affixed to the front of the building above the main entrance.

One Chilliwack resident who lives near Yale Road reported that her parkade smelled like fire early Tuesday morning.

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The front of the building had what appeared to be charred wood paneling on the ground, next to shards of broken glass and shattered remnants from a glass window. There was a noticeable smell of burned material emanating from the front of the building, but not from the east side of the building.

Earlier this summer, there was no fence protecting the front of the Yale Road building and there was no broken glass either.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML / This is what the former Portal homeless shelter looked like in July 2022. It has since deteriorated in a downtown eyesore.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

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Former Portal homeless shelter on Yale Road possibly burned early Tuesday morning

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