Two scorched cars serve as a reminder of dramatic flames and sparks overnight at a Mercedes dealership on Government Street in Victoria.
The flames started around midnight, burning into early Wednesday (July 12), said witness Brandon Kainz, who watched the incident from the two-storey home he’s staying in.
A visitor to Victoria, he was surprised to look over and see flames across the street.
“The roof of the car was on fire, then it slowly engulfed the car,” Kainz told the Victoria News.
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It’s a neighbourhood familiar to the Victoria Fire Department, with several reported fires in recent weeks.
“There have been few arsons in the area I feel like. The house directly across from this one was on fire last week,” Kainz said.
Victoria Fire was called out to Three Point Motors shortly after midnight for a fully engulfed vehicle, Fire Chief Dan Atkinson confirmed. Accordingly, the department responded with engine, rescue and battalion chief.
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Described as a “difficult fire” it damaged a second vehicle parked nearby and completely burned away the convertable top of the first car.
Firefighters cleared by 1 a.m. but the fire, suspicious in nature, remains under investigation, Atkinson said.
A quick scan of statistics show 55 fires in the area over the last three months, while not able to read into that number without a deeper dive. “All call types this year are up substantially over last year,” he said. “We are very busy.”
In a video posted to social media the Victoria Fire Department noted the fire prevention division has been extremely busy with a series of fires in a three-block radius near the intersection of Douglas and Government streets.
“Although these incidents may not be linked, we are asking the residents and businesses in these areas to be diligent and report if they have information or camera footage in around the times of any of these recent fires,” the post reads.