Vancouver crews are investigating a cluster of suspicious fires overnight including one at a home that was occupied.
The fires, all set in the 4500-block of Inverness Street, started very close together.
The fire at the house caused heavy damage to the home’s rear deck but firefighters manged to keep it from spreading.
Vancouver Police say the occupants of the home actually woke up to the crackling sound of the fire at the rear of their home, just after 1 a.m. The residents were able to alert each other and were able to escape through a window.
“Shocked, totally shocked,” said resident Teresa Calalang. “I’ve been here for seven years. We didn’t expect this, it’s terrible.”
Calalang said it was lucky her husband came home early from work and were able to help them get out quickly.
The other two fires started at a garage and in a pile of tires on the grounds of nearby Sir Richard McBride Elementary School. At this time it is unclear if the third fire at the garage is related to the other two.
“The third one was in the same alley, about a block up.”
The fire outside Richard McBride did set off the sprinklers in the boiler room at the school but there was no damage reported. It will be open as scheduled on Tuesday.
About 24 firefighters were called out to extinguish these blazes. Vancouver Police also spent hours on scene and will continue to gather evidence and talk to possible witnesses.
Anyone with information about these fires, or who was near Inverness Street and McBride Elementary School at around 1 a.m. this morning, and noticed people or vehicles in the area that could now be considered suspicious, is asked to call the VPD Arson line at 604-717-2962 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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