The destructive fire at Kelowna’s Bankhead store has been deemed arson and an arrest has been made, RCMP said Tuesday.
The fire was sparked at the Bernard Avenue neighbourhood store at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday and appeared to be suspicious early on.
Tuesday, however, RCMP confirmed the fire was criminal in nature and that a man had been arrested. He was later released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 9.
“This incident was not random in nature and we do not believe there is a risk to other members of the public or businesses from the individual who was arrested,” Cpl. Michael Gauthier said in a press release.
“An extensive risk assessment is always conducted before someone is released from custody and appropriate conditions have been put in place.”
Platoon captain Jarret Dais said the fire was discovered when a person living in the basement smelled smoke.
“It was more of an exterior attack versus interior. We did have a look inside but because (it was) in the roof it’s not safe to send crews in so we did what we could from the outside,” Dais said.
No injuries were reported.
Kelowna Mounties are seeking any video evidence of foot traffic in the areas of Bernard Avenue, Burtch Road and the Parkinson Recreation Centre between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m on June 4.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300 and reference Kelowna RCMP File No. 2023-30917.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may also contact Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a tip online at http://www.crimestoppers.net.
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