VANCOUVER – Vancouver fire fighters battled three blazes early Friday, at least one of which is considered suspicious.
The first two fires began within two blocks and half an hour of each other, while the third occurred a few hours later and less than two kilometres away. Officials have not linked any of the three fires at this time.
"The first fire does appear to be suspicious in nature," said Captain Gabe Roder, Vancouver Fire and Rescue. "It appears to be… deliberately set."
Roder said the call for that fire came in around 3:45 a.m., when flames were spotted at a garage in the 1500 block of Marpole Avenue.
By the time fire fighters arrived, the garage was fully engulfed in flames.
Fire fighters extinguished the blaze quickly and turned their attention to the much more serious house fire that hit a gated residence in the 1600 block of Angus Drive around 4:15 a.m.
At least nine fire trucks and approximately 40 fire fighters were dispatched to the scene, where they battled the flames for three hours.
Investigators were on the scene into the day Friday to determine the cause of the blaze, which raced through the house and breeched the roof.
"Although it is a block and a half away… at this point in time there isn’t any substantial evidence that it is suspicious," said Roder.
Two residents escaped from the house unharmed. Roder said one firefighter suffered injuries, but has since been treated and released from hospital.
The third fire began around 8 a.m. inside a Babies "R" Us store in the 1100 block of West Broadway.
"We haven’t got a cause yet," said Roder. "There’s a tremendous amount of smoke and water damage, and investigators haven’t had a chance to get there."
Traffic was shut down on Broadway for around an hour, as fire fighters worked to extinguish the fire.
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