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Trailer fire at school district offices under investigation

Saanich Fire continue to investigate a late Wednesday night fire that caused more than $80,000 in estimated damages to a trailer containing items donated to a local charity including clothes and other items.
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Saanich Fire Thursday morning are investigating this trailer fire near the head offices of SD61. Submitted.

Saanich Fire continue to investigate a late Wednesday night fire that caused more than $80,000 in estimated damages to a trailer containing items donated to a local charity including clothes and other items.

Assistant Chief Rich Pala of the Saanich Fire Department said the fire remains under investigation. Possible causes include including mechanical failure and vandalism, he said.

Crews responded to the fire at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday night. They found that it had primarily happened on the outside of the 53-foot long trailer parked outside Tolmie School in the 500 block of Boleskine Road. The heritage building serves as the administrative headquarters of SD 61.

The rig that had pulled the trailer to the site was not present, he said, adding that investigators are currently tracking down the driver as part of the investigation.

Investigators want to talk to the driver to determine how long the trailer had been standing before catching fire. This will help them determine whether a mechanical failure might have sparked the fire, he said.

Investigators are also looking at vandalism as a potential cause, he said.

This said, investigators have so far found no evidence that links the fire to residents from the homeless camp in nearby Regina Park.

“I have nothing that would connect one to the other,” he said.

As for the contents of the trailer, some are salvageable, others are not, he said.

They were heading towards a charity in downtown Victoria, he said.



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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