Vernon arson tally continues to climb

VERNON – Fire set to an abandoned house and a pleasure boat has added to the list of suspected arsons within the city.

Saturday around midnight, Vernon RCMP were called to a fire in an abandoned house in the 3800 block of 30 Avenue.

“The rear of the building was totally engulfed when the fire department arrived,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.

Police were called out again early Monday morning to a torched pleasure boat in a commercial complex in the 7000 block of Pleasant Valley Road. The 22 foot boat was completely destroyed in the fire and a nearby boat suffered minor heat damage. To get to the boat, suspects had to get over or around a fence protecting the property.

Police are treating the fire as suspicious but do not yet have any suspects.

The detachment has pooled many resources into the string of suspicious fires, which now number 14.

Two men were arrested in connection to a fire behind AJ’s Pets & Things and have since been released with conditions. Police believe the men were not involved in any of the other fires. 

The investigation into the remaining fires continues.

“We’re scrambling trying to bring this file to a conclusion for sure,” Molendyk says. “We want to put a stop to it before something serious happens.”

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.