Investigation underway after Victoria gas station damaged by fire

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of a fire that damaged a gas station in Victoria early Wednesday morning.

On March 27, around 3:30 a.m., crews from the Victoria Fire Department were called to the Petro-Canada at 2670 Douglas St. for a report of a fire.

The gas station was closed at the time.

A Victoria city spokesperson tells CHEK News no one was injured and the fire is not believed to be suspicious, though the incident is still under investigation.

“Early signs, not suspicious at all,” the spokesperson said in an interview.

The Victoria Firefighters Association says when crews arrived on scene, one gas pump was on fire and it had spread to the roof.

“The Engine 3 crew started by hitting the fire in the roof to stop the spread of fire and then worked their way back down to the pump until the fire was mostly extinguished,” the association said in an Instagram post.

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The association says multiple 911 calls were received about this fire, and this prevented the fire from a worse outcome.

“Needless to say, this incident may have been MUCH worse if not for the multiple 911 calls from members of the public and the lightning-fast response time from the Victoria Fire Department,” the post says. “When calling 911, remember to have as much accurate information as possible. This can help fire crews formulate a plan en route!”

Victoria Police (VicPD) was also on scene, and the city spokesperson adds that officers “took the lead on traffic control.”

They say firefighters were quick to mitigate the flames.

“Kudos to our crews and VicPD. Both were on scene really quickly and knocked it down, and contained it to that one corner where the origin was,” the spokesperson said.

“Crews did a good job of keeping all the other pumps cool and wet so the fire didn’t spread. They did a good a job of keeping it contained.”

A worker at the Petro-Canada tells CHEK News the business will be closed to customers all day Wednesday.

It’s unclear when the gas station will reopen.

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This blaze follows a series of intentionally set fires in the area last July, including one at a business in the 2300 block of Government Street and another at the Mercedes-Benz dealership in the 2500 block. Earlier this year, it was announced that the arsonist responsible for these fires had been sentenced to six years in prison.

The fire that destroyed Ricky’s All Day Grill in the 2900 block of Douglas Street last June was also arson, but VicPD says this incident is still under investigation.

READ MORE: Arsonist responsible for 7 Island fires sentenced to 6 years in prison

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