Nanaimo fire crews responded to a series of calls this morning, on Victoria Crescent, which has local businesses very concerned over public safety.
According to Nanaimo Fire, the three locations were close to each other, but only two of them are believed to be deliberately set, with the last one being caused by carelessness.
The first fire happened around 4:50 a.m. at the Co-op gas station where someone is believed to have sparked the fire between the gas pumps.
The second happened around 6 a.m. on the corner of Victoria Crescent and Commercial Street, with a representative from Nanaimo Fire saying that one appears to have been set deliberately as well.
The last one this morning was set at 9:50 located at 33 Victora Street, Sound Heritage, and is believed to be caused after someone carelessly discarded their cigarette and ignited debris around the building.
However, Assistant Chief Stu Kenning says the blaze is still under investigation to determine the exact cause.
“It is under investigation,” says Kenning. “It doesn’t appear to be suspicious, but it does appear to be set.”
Kenning says there were no injuries in the fire, but also stated crews had to get into a crawl space, with a chainsaw, in the building to extinguish the blaze.
“It is very common to have to use chainsaws in this type of fire,” Kenning says.
Victoria Crescent business owner Kevan Shaw says this is enough and fires are becoming an everyday occurrence in the area, and they want it to stop.
“This has got to end, for those on the street and for the public,” he says. “We are not safe, and people are dying.”
