Early morning fire at Blanshard Street townhouse unit deemed suspicious

Victoria Police are investigating the cause of a suspicious fire that broke out in an apartment suite early Friday morning.

At 4 a.m., a fire tore through a townhouse unit and damaged an adjacent suite at the Evergreen Terrace  apartment complex (formerly Blanshard Courts), in the 2500-block of Blanshard Street.

A Victoria Fire Department official told Victoria Buzz that the blaze is considered suspicious and the complex is now the scene of a criminal investigation.

Victoria Police were already on site before the fire started, and the call for fire department assistance came from police rather than a member of the public.

No injuries were reported, however residents in neighbouring apartment and townhouse suites were evacuated from the premises.

A BC Transit bus parked outside the property is being used to shelter these displaced residents for the time being.

More to come.