Three fires within blocks of one another last night are prompting the Vancouver police and Vancouver fire departments to look into whether they were deliberately set.
Occupants of a home in the area of Inverness Street and East 29th Avenue woke up to the crackling sound of a fire at the rear of their home just after 1 a.m. on Feb. 13, the Vancouver Police Department says. Residents alerted each other and were able to escape without any injuries.
While firefighters were putting out this fire, which resulted in considerable damage to the rear of the home, they were alerted to a fire a few blocks away at McBride Elementary School. Someone had piled items against the back wall of the school and set them on fire. The smoke set off the sprinklers and alarms inside the school, which caused minor damage.
There is a third suspected arson attempt within a block’s distance but it's not yet known if it is related to the house and school fire.
No one was injured in any of the fires.
Detectives from the VPD’s Arson Team and the VFD’s Fire Investigation Division will work together to determine the cause of the fires, if they are linked, and who is responsible.
Anyone with information about these fires, or who was near Inverness Street and McBride Elementary School at around 1 a.m. this morning, and noticed people or vehicles in the area that could now be considered suspicious, is asked to call the VPD Arson line at 604-717-2962 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
