Firefighters douse 19 ‘suspicious’ fires set in downtown Vancouver overnight

Vancouver firefighters doused 19 fires that appear to have been set on purpose overnight in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside.

Crews responded to the fires between 11 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services tweeted. Vancouver police, it said, are now investigating the alleged arsons — primarily targeting garbage cans and dumpsters.

In total, the service said its teams have tackled 30 fires since Wednesday morning.

In an interview, Matthew Trudeau, public information officer for Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, said “the intent behind this is very concerning,” as is the quantity of “suspicious” fires. It’s unclear at this point where there are one or more suspects, but there appeared to be a “pattern” between the location, timing and targets, he added.

“These can prove to be very serious in nature where these are against a building potentially that’s occupied,” he told Global News.

“That exposure is very concerning to us of having a fully-involved dumpster fire — lots of heat, lots of fuel, dry conditions — quickly sending heat, fire and smoke into an occupied building, which could be a condo, office building.”

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Trudeau called the string of incidents “very out of the ordinary,” and particularly in the midst of a record-breaking wildfire season, urged the public to call 911 if they see smoke, even if they think someone else already has.

In an emailed statement, Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison confirmed the force is looking into the blazes, but has little information to date.

“We’ll work with VFRS to review the circumstances in each of these cases to determine whether they are linked and if a suspect can be identified,” he wrote.

“If we obtain sufficient evidence we will certainly consult Crown counsel regarding criminal charges.”