Vancouver woman narrowly misses being hit by falling window downtown

Editor’s note: a previous version of this story had said a window had fallen from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. The window had in fact fallen from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Estates — a residential building near the hotel.

A Vancouver woman says she was seconds away from being hit by a glass window that fell outside a downtown building and smashed onto the sidewalk.

Val Jones says she was at the corner of Burrard and West Cordova street around 2 p.m. Saturday when she heard a crash behind her.

“At the same time as I looked back, I started running forwards because I can see glass just shattering about five feet behind me,” said Jones.

Jones says she was initally confused and then got an adrenaline rush later at a coffee shop. She says there were two families with children nearby, and the glass may have also damaged a nearby car.

“Afterwards, I went into the hotel and I actually told the concierge and he had no idea anything had just happened either.”

Jones says this is one of her fears while living in the city and suspects if she had waited two extra seconds, she could have been hit by the window. She now wants answers about how this could have happened.

“I would love to know how a window falls out of a hotel, especially a hotel that’s been there for quiet some time,” said Jones. “This is obviously something that is a public saftey concern.”

Kerrie Bowders, director of marketing and communications for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, confirms the glass fell from the Fairmont Pacific Rim Estates and says nobody was hurt.

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the building’s management for comment.