Investigators are looking into the cause of an early morning fire that destroyed a three-million dollar home in the British Properties in West Vancouver.
Flames broke out at about 1:30 a.m. in a three-storey home in the 2600-block of Chelsea Court. By the time firefighters got there the building was engulfed.
A crew from neighbouring North Vancouver was also called in to help. Luckily no one was home at the time but it’s the third time in just over a year that fire has struck this home.
By 6 a.m. crews had extinguished most of the flames, but the structure was still smouldering.
Structural engineers need to assess the safety of the building before a cause can be determined, but police and fire investigators say the 7300 square-foot house was under renovation.
One of the construction workers says he lost thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
“I’ve been working on it all Christmas to get some money for Christmas,” says drywaller Pierre Reilley, “and then I finally get paid, getting paid today, and then all my tools are in the basement so it’s obviously all burned down now.”
Sgt. Paul Skelton with the West Vancouver Police says the first fire was believed to have been caused by faulty wiring. He did not know the cause of the second fire. It is unknown if the three fires were connected.
The owners were expecting to move back into the house in the next few months.
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