No injuries have been reported after flames gutted a North Island home on Tuesday morning.
Insp. Jeff Preston, detachment commander for the Campbell River RCMP, said the fire on Henderson Avenue at the Wei Wai Kum reserve was suspicious.
A home at 2335 Henderson Ave. appears completely gutted after a fire that police have called suspicious. pic.twitter.com/SBKrF7Binc
— David Gordon Koch (@davidgordonkoch) June 25, 2019
The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived around 9:20 a.m., said Chief Thomas Doherty of the Campbell River Fire Department.
“We’re treating it as suspicious in nature at this point,” Doherty said.
Flames spread to the vinyl siding of a neighbouring home, but firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading further.
“We were able to knock that down, save that home and protect the remaining homes on either side,” he said.
There were 17 firefighters and several fire trucks involved, Doherty said. Crews remained on scene to watch for hot spots. Firefighters were also receiving health assessments.
Firefighters are on the scene of a fire on the Wei Wai Kum reserve in Campbell River. Heavy smoke in the air. pic.twitter.com/pOEHSV1vKs
— David Gordon Koch (@davidgordonkoch) June 25, 2019
CR firefighters battle another structure fire this morning. This one on Henderson Rd. No injuries reported. The cause is considered suspicious and under investigation. pic.twitter.com/WJicXn1BEC
— Campbell River Fire (@RiverCityFire) June 25, 2019
Wei Wai Kum Chief Chris Roberts said he’s grateful for the quick action by first responders and the response from residents.
“We’re a tight-knit community,” Roberts said. “When things like this happen, it involves or concerns a lot of people.”
He added he was thankful that neighbouring homes didn’t appear to be damaged and that no one was hurt.
A neighbour who declined to provide her full name said the vinyl siding on her home was “pretty melted” but that insurance would cover the expense.
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Markell Miller, who lives across the street, said his wife saw a man in the doorway of the house moments before the fire started. She was walking to work at the time, Miller said.
“He was doing something at the doorway there,” he said. “After he left, she (saw) a fire there.”
A home at 2335 Henderson Ave. appears completely gutted after a fire that police have called suspicious. pic.twitter.com/SBKrF7Binc
— David Gordon Koch (@davidgordonkoch) June 25, 2019
The man then knocked on the doors of both neighbouring homes after the fire was started, Miller said, but no one was home.
After knocking on the doors, the man “just booked it with his car and took off.”
Smoke from the fire was visible from miles away.
Melissa Lambert, who lives in the area, said she went to check on elders with respiratory issues after seeing heavy smoke billowing from the house. Several elders in the neighbourhood are on oxygen, she said.
“We just wanted to make sure their well-being was looked after,” said Lambert, a nurse with Kwakiutl District Council Health. “They were more panicked about what was going on and the situation in the community than their own health.”
