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Victoria, Saanich police investigate rash of dumpster fires

Four dumpster fires happened across Saanich and Victoria on Monday morning
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Victoria Fire responded to three dumpster fires on Monday morning. A fourth dumpster fire was also started in Saanich. Pictured, on February 7 a dumpster fire was found in the Belmont Avenue area. (Black Press File Photo)

The Victoria and Saanich police departments are investigating four dumpster fires that happened Monday morning.

The first began at 2 a.m. in the 600-block of Bay Street.

Shortly after, a second was attended to at 4:30 a.m. in the 500-block of Chatham Street. An hour later, a third was found in the 400-block of Kingston Street, while a fourth was found at 5:50 a.m. in the area of Douglas and Alpha.

There was no major damage from the fires, though Victoria Battalion Chief Brian Elvedahl reported minor damage to surroundings.

ALSO READ: Firefighters douse dumpster fire overnight at Oaklands Elementary

“At one building the dumpster was in a parkade, so there was some heat on the building,” Elvedahl said. “At another one a tree had a bit of burning, while at the one near Menzies Street a nearby car was damaged from heat.”

Elvedahl added it’s hard to determine the cause of the fires and if they were intentional, but added that the amount of fires in such a short frame of time were unusual.

“When they happen in a series like that they are concerning for us, that’s why we got the police involved,” he said.

The Victoria Police Department is investigating the first three fires, while the Saanich Police Department is investigating the fourth.

VicPD spokesperson Const. Matt Rutherford said that information is still coming in, but at this point all four fires are suspicious.

ALSO READ: Victoria firefighters battle two suspicious dumpster fires Sunday night

Anyone with information on the fires can call the Victoria Police Department’s non-emergency line at 250-995-7654 or the Saanich Police Department’s non-emergency line at 250-475-4321.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com


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