Surrey refugee support charity reeling after support building torched

A Surrey-based charity that supports refugees integrating in Canada is reeling from a fire that destroyed multiple cars and a communal space used by families.

Global News has obtained exclusive security video that appears to show a suspect lighting the fire.

In the video, the person can be seen walking up to a mattress behind a carport off Hilton Road and Bolivar Crescent around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday before flames break out and they casually walk away.

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Firefighters were able to knock the resulting two-alarm fire down, but not before it destroyed seven vehicles, bicycles, a toolshed and the carport structure itself, which belonged to the New Hope Community Services Society.

“It’s absolutely devastating for us,” society executive director Ann Berard-Ball told Global News.

The group operates a 13-unit apartment building housing 10 refugee families from Syria, Afghanistan, Columbia, Mexico, Sudan and Ethiopia. The building fortunately survived the fire with minor damage, including several exploded windows.

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“Our families are our first priority and they are safe. We are so, so grateful that the building and our families are safe,” Berard-Ball said.

The vehicles were owned by staff and the society’s client families, who are now grappling with how to get to work and school, she said.

What’s more, the carport itself was a key communal space that the organization used for group dinners, fundraising and children’s activities.

“It really is the heart of who we are as an organization,” she said.

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“It is traumatizing. Many of our families have been forced to flee unsafe situations, and this is traumatizing to them as well as our staff who live in the building.”

Surrey RCMP is investigating the fire, which it has determined was deliberately set.

No suspect is in custody and a motive remains unclear, police said.

Berard-Ball said the group still hasn’t been given access to the burned area to take full stock of the damage, but hopes to be able to start an insurance claim soon.

In the meantime, anyone that wants to support them can donate or find other ways to help at the New Hope Community Services website.