By ,
Published January 14, 2015
An explosion and fire have destroyed two shops, including a Starbucks, and damaged at least four other businesses.
Police said arson was the cause, adding that the fire was set inside a small taco restaurant and an accelerant set off the explosion.
The explosion occurred inside the Taco Del Mar restaurant about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, destroying it and the neighboring Starbucks.
The blast leveled a bus shelter and blew out the windows at a drugstore across the street and in a room at a nearby Holiday Inn.
No serious injuries have been reported.
"There was an explosion and a fire," Const. Tim Fanning of Vancouver City police told The Canadian Press. "Obviously, it's a very serious incident and it's just amazing that nobody was hurt."
Shattered glass, chairs and tables, as well as signs normally advertising the various businesses were strewn along the streets.
"There was this big, huge bang and boom," Stewart Ross, who was on a passing bus, told Citytv, The Canadian Press reported. "The bus kind of shook a little bit and you felt a low tremble on your legs, like hot air or something being blown on you. A couple of other guys sitting at the back, where I was, looked out and we saw this yellow shoot out like a light and one guy said, 'I think that's a fire.'"
Click here to read more on this story from The Canadian Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/blast-destroys-a-starbucks-several-other-businesses-in-vancouver