A fire that took place on the Galloping Goose Trail in Langford Sunday night could have gone awry if it weren’t for observant community members reporting it.
Langford Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Lance Caven said someone called 911 on May 10 around 11 p.m. to report a fire on the Galloping Goose Trail near Luxton Road and the South Vancouver Island Rangers property.
When crews arrived, Caven said they found a fire burning on a wooden bridge which had a natural gas line underneath it. Firefighters used a fire extinguisher from the truck as well as a water bucket to douse the flames.
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“It’s not really a visible area – luckily somebody came by,” Caven said. “That could have been a really serious situation, especially with the Fortis supply line running underneath the bridge.”
The natural gas line running under the bridge supplies the Sooke area so Caven said FortisBC was called to assess it. The natural gas line was not damaged but the decking on the bridge was and remains charred. The Capital Regional District (CRD) was advised as well since the trail falls under their responsibility. The CRD has not closed the portion of the trail as the structural integrity of the bridge remains.
The fire has been deemed suspicious by fire crews and the West Shore RCMP confirmed police are investigating a report of a suspicious fire at the same location.
Caven said metal framing from what could have been a baby stroller was found at the scene.
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Langford Fire Rescue received a number of calls from people even after the fire was put out to make sure they were aware of it. Caven added it’s great that people are noticing things in their community and encouraged residents to call 911 whenever they see anything suspicious or unusual.
Sunday night’s fire is an isolated incident at this time but Caven noted fires similar to it do happen from time-to-time and are kept track of by the RCMP and Langford Fire Rescue.
“The fire itself is suspicious because we don’t know what or who started it,” Caven said. “But we’re not seeing a pattern.”