Authorities are investigating what is believed to be a suspicious fire.
Firefighters were called to a three-storey building under construction in the 2700 block of 41st Avenue Thursday at about 9:48 p.m.
“Our crew caught it early,” said Lawrie Skolrood, Vernon deputy fire chief.
“It could have been a lot worse.”
The building was in the framing stage of construction, and a man and woman were inside at the time of the fire. In fact, the woman had to jump from an upper story to escape the fire and sustained non-life threatening injuries.
“The information we have is these people shouldn’t have been there,” said Cpl. Todd Bowden, with the RCMP.
“We’re not sure what they were doing there and what there role was there.”
Forensic identification officers and the police services dog were on scene but a fire suspect was not identified.
“We are seeking public assistance,” said Bowden, adding that it’s unknown if this blaze is related to a rash of suspicious fires earlier this year in Vernon.
