The person who set the Woodfibre LNG community office on fire Thursday morning could have been burned.
“The suspect got extremely close to the fire and could be injured,” said Squamish RCMP Staff Sgt. Jolaine Percival.
Police checked with the hospital, but no one had checked in with this type of injury, she said.
Surveillance video was obtained of the suspect, who is believed to be between 5-foot 9-inches and 6-foot one-inch tall and weigh 170 to 190 pounds.
It isn't possible to tell if the suspect is a man or a woman based on the video, but he or she was wearing a dark rain jacket, jeans and boots, and was on foot on Cleveland at 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 3.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Squamish RCMP detachment at 604-892-6100.
Squamish RCMP confirmed the early morning fire as arson on Thursday afternoon.
“It is very concerning to hear that this may be arson,” said Mayor Patricia Heintzman.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable to put peoples’ lives and livelihoods at risk, and it is my sincere hope that this was not politically motivated. Under no circumstances is it an acceptable form of civil society to express disagreement through such violence. I know that we are collectively better than this in Squamish, and that this individual act does not represent our community as a whole.”
The damage is mainly to the outside of the office, according to Squamish RCMP.
Squamish Fire Rescue was called to the fire at the 38143 Cleveland Ave. office at around 4 a.m., Thursday morning, according to Fire Chief Bill Stoner.
Light smoke and fire were present when the crew arrived, Stoner said.
"An efficient response by Squamish fire allowed for quick extinguishment and confined the fire to the compartment of origin," he said in an emailed statement to The Chief.
Woodfibre LNG spokesperson Jennifer Siddon said the company was holding off on making an official comment while the RCMP investigation was taking place, but thanked the authorities for their efforts.
“Woodfibre LNG would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Squamish Fire Rescue and Squamish RCMP for their quick response to the incident,” she said in an email to The Squamish Chief.
Two RCMP officers were stationed out front of the office Thursday morning and tape is set up around the perimeter of the entrance to the office.
The Community Office will reopen after repairs are made, Siddon said.
A representative for FortisBC said it was fortunate no one was injured as a result of the “small fire.”
“The safety of our employees and the public, and the security of our assets is FortisBC’s number one priority,” read a statement from the natural gas company.
“Our Community Office has been a place of peaceful and constructive dialogue for more than two years. We know that this incident is not representative of the community of Squamish.”
