A stalwart all-day breakfast restaurant will be shuttered for at least a few weeks after a kitchen fire broke out at the Blue Fox Cafe this morning.
The fire at 919 Fort St. is being called an unfortunate accident by Victoria Fire Department, who were on scene around 6:30 a.m., said Insp. Brad Sifert.
"One of the burners in the kitchen caught on fire," he said. "Depending on the appliances, it was maybe $25,000 for clean-up costs. Smoke goes quite a few places in those older buildings so a few businesses above the restaurant may need to fumigate as well."
Suspicious fire in James Bay
Two suspicious fires in James Bay led to the arrest of one man this morning as well.
Victoria firefighters were alerted by VicPD to a minor bike shed fire at 240 Simcoe St. just after 5 a.m., Sifert said.
"An individual was taken into custody. He was also apparently lighting wood chips by the (James Bay Community) school, but luckily whatever he was using was extinguished quickly."
Sifert said the bike shed fire across the street could have been much worse if it had spread to a nearby carport and parked vehicles. Damage from the fire is estimated at a few thousand dollars, he said.