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Vernon  

Legion fire set on stairs

UPDATE: 3:44 P.M.

A fire at the old Legion building on 31st Avenue in the downtown was purposely started on a staircase at the back of the building.

Chief fire investigator Lawrie Skolrood inspected the scene Friday, some hours after Vernon Fire Rescue crews battled the blaze in the darkness.

“We have had quite a bit of attention given to that building by our nighttime population,” said Skolrood. “It is hard to say if they were trying to cook food or if it was started as a case of mischief.”

The deputy chief, wearing breathing apparatus, viewed both the inside and outside of the structure.

He said damage was mostly contained to the southwest corner of the building and part of the attic area.

“There's a lot of debris inside but that was from transients living there,” Skolrood said, adding that it appeared no one was living in the building at the time of the fire and that it had been sealed.

Skolrood said the former Legion building is slated for demolition in a few months time.


UPDATE: 12:30 P.M.

Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood has been at the scene of a suspicious fire at the old Royal Canadian Legion building on 31st Avenue.

Skolrood, wearing breathing apparatus, was inspecting both the inside and the outside of the building, where the fire originated. 

A wooden staircase at the back of the building is charred and there are holes in the roof in the southwest corner where the fire burned through before it was brought under control.

The RCMP were also at the scene.


Fire crews battled a large fire in the old Legion building in downtown Vernon early Friday morning before it was put out.

"The fire started on the exterior of the building and spread into the rafters," said fire captain Ryan McGivern, explaining that the blaze began on the alleyside of the building in the 3300 block of 31st Avenue around 2:30 a.m.

McGivern said it is considered a suspicious fire because it started on the outside but that has still to be determined.

Approximately 20 firefighters fought the fire for two hours before it was doused. 

"There's going to be smoke and water damage but, thankfully, we stopped it in the roof before it spread further," McGivern said.

The Legion has not used the building for some years.



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