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Information sought around series of James Bay arson incidents

Four fires set Oct. 19
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Victoria police are seeking witnesses and information after four fires were set in one day in James Bay. (Black Press Media file photo)

Four deliberate, same-day fires in James Bay have Victoria police searching for witnesses.

Officers were called to the first fire just before 3 a.m. Tuesday (Oct. 19). They arrived at a building in the 800-block of Academy Close to find firefighters extinguishing the flames of a fire set in the under-building parking area. Two vehicles, as well as the exterior walls and exterior floor of the above residential suite were damaged.

At the same time, other officers were called to a multi-unit residential building parking structure in the 900-block of Humboldt Street for more reports of a fire. Officers found evidence of a small, deliberately set fire that had failed to fully ignite.

Shortly before 7:30 a.m., Victoria firefighters called police to the parking area of another multi-unit residential building in the 100-block of Douglas Street after extinguishing a fire under a canopy there. The fire caused some damage to the building’s exterior walls.

Finally, shortly after 1 p.m., officers found a fourth deliberately set fire at a different multi-unit residential building also in the 100-block of Douglas Street. It had failed to fully ignite.

Police said there have been no injuries from the fires, but that they are investigating them as arson.

READ ALSO: Man with cattle prod, meth and night vision goggles arrested after Victoria storage locker break-in

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the areas between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday are asked to contact the VicPD report desk at 250-995-7654, ext. 1, or report anonymously to Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.


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