Saanich police and Saanich fire are investigating after a suspicious overnight fire has destroyed a house along Carey Road.
Fire officials said that crews were called to the scene at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and when the first trucks arrived, the structure was already fully engulfed in flames.
Deputy Fire Chief, Frank Macdonald, said that upon arrival, firefighters found a fully involved residential structure fire with flames already shooting through the roof.
Crews battled the blaze from the time of arrival up until about 4 a.m., according to Macdonald.
“It was quite a difficult fire to contain due to the nature of the property,” he told CHEK News.
The house is located in the 4100-block of Carey Road at the intersection of Warren Avenue and borders onto the Panama Flats.
According to Macdonald, 19 firefighters worked on the blaze overnight in order to get it under control. Saanich police closed the road to all traffic for several hours while firefighters worked on extinguishing the blaze.
Saanich police said the fire has been deemed suspicious and there was nobody at home at the time of the fire.
On Sept. 9 at 10 p.m., Saanich police officers went to the same home for a report of a landlord-tenant dispute. No occupants were located and officers left the area.
“It is too early to determine if there is any correlation to the report called in to the home last night and the fire hours later,” Const. Markus Anastasiades, Public Information and Communications Officer with Saanich police said in a statement.
Fire watch remained on the scene up until 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, monitoring for any hotspots following the fire.
The structure sustained significant damage as a result of the overnight fire, although the four outer walls are still standing, says Macdonald.
One neighbour, Karl Johanson, posted a video of the incident that shows the extent of the blaze, as well as shots of fire crews in action.
Graham Cox
