A fire at an empty home in Saanich is now under investigation. Saanich Fire Department responded to the 3000 block of Orillia St just after midnight on Friday.
Saanich Police arrived at the home first and discovered it was unoccupied. Surrounding homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution.
The fire was contained to the rear of the home and no one was injured. The fire had spread to a small area in the attic, which was also extinguished.
Glenys Haskins who lives next door, tells Victoria Buzz the house has been vacant for only a few weeks.
“Our dog woke us up first then another neighbour came pounding on the door to get us all out to the street. It was scary at first but fire crews made it a priority to protect our house,” Haskins said. “We were back in our home about 1.5 hours after it all started,” she added.
Bernard Schulmann told Victoria Buzz he moved out of the home about six weeks ago, and it has been empty since.
that would be the house I lived in at 3089 Orillia, since I moved out six weeks ago it has been empty
— Bernard von Schulman – Discord: Bern99 #7363 (@BC_Iconoclast) October 28, 2016
The house sustained an estimated $50,000 in damage.. Investigators are currently investigating the cause of the fire, arson was not ruled out.
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to phone the Saanich Police at 250-475-4321 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).
