Fourteen out of 30 fires in April in Richmond were deemed “suspicious.”
Statistics from Richmond Fire-Rescue show there were 12 accidental fires and four fires that couldn’t be determined whether they were suspicious or not.
Of the 30 April fires, 18 took place outdoors, while only three were in homes and five in commercial/industrial buildings. There were two vehicle fires in April.
In his report to city council, Richmond Fire-Rescue (RFR) chief Jim Wishlove notes there was a wildland fire on Shell Road south of Highway 91 on April 10. The fire started in a makeshift structure that then spread to three trees.
Furthermore, there were two hedge fires in Richmond in April.
The first one, on April 27 on Seacoate Road, was first reported as a porch fire, but later it was discovered that a hedge was on fire behind the property.
The second one, on April 30, was on Steveston Highway and turned out to be two hedge fires, considered suspicious by RFR. The fires caused some minor damage to one building. The RCMP brought in its dog team for the investigation.
Of the 30 fires in April, the vast majority fell into two fire hall response zones – about 20 took place in city centre, the densest area of the city, which is covered by Fire Hall 1 on Gilbert Road and Fire Hall 3 on Cambie Road.
In fact, in April, there were no fires in the Hamilton fire zone, covered by Fire Hall 5. Only two fires were reported in east Richmond, on River Road near No. 7 Road and on Sidaway Road just north of Blundell Road.
The Richmond Fire-Rescue report will be dealt with at next week’s community safety meeting.
