Last night a fire destroyed the playground at Stadacona Park which is believed to have been human-caused.
On Tuesday, March 31st, at around 1:15 a.m., Victoria Fire Department received multiple 911 calls reporting a significant fire at Stadacona Park.
Fire Chief Dan Atkinson said that initially, one crew was sent to the blaze, but the call was quickly upgraded.
“We initially responded with a single engine company, as would be normal to a response like that, but while enroute, given the amount of smoke and flames that were showing on arrival we upgraded that to a second alarm,” said Chief Atkinson.
“I’m happy to report that we were on scene in minutes and we had the fire under control and knocked down approximately 10 minutes after the first 911 call was received—so very fast response, very effective response, which helped prevent further damage and spread.”
Despite the rapid response, the entirety of the playground area was destroyed and will have to be torn down, except for the specialized accessible swing set.
A City of Victoria spokesperson told Victoria Buzz the playground structures that were destroyed cost the City around $600,000 to install.
VicPD says that evidence has been gathered from the scene of the blaze and an investigative team is looking into the matter.
Though police would not say what the cause of the fire may have been, Chief Atkinson confirmed the fire was suspicious in nature and believed to have been caused by humans.
The City says that early talks have begun with insurance providers, and for the time being, the playground will remain fenced off and unusable, though the tennis courts and remainder of the park are still accessible
Anyone with information who has not yet spoken with investigators should contact the VicPD at (250) 995-7654, citing file number 26-12901.
More information to come as the investigation progresses.
