Steven Hill
[email protected]
An early evening fire at a manufactured home on Government Road Friday (Jan. 6) is being treated as suspicious by local RCMP.Firefighter Bob Fulton said fire crews quickly responded to the blaze in the 39000 block of Government Road, finding a green and white trailer on fire."It was a very quick response," said Fulton. "We were there in under five minutes."That quick response enabled the firefighters to swiftly extinguish the fire and prevent it from engulfing the structure and spreading to nearby trailers.
"When we arrived, we were told that although nobody was apparently home in the trailer - there may have been two dogs trapped inside," he said.
Firefighters entered the trailer and found one of the dogs hiding in the small bathroom.
"The dog was taken by an Animal Control officer to attending emergency vehicles and oxygen was administered for smoke inhalation," said Fulton.
The second dog was not found, but Fulton said there was a "doggie door" on the trailer, and surmised the animal may have escaped.After the blaze was extinguished, an examination of the trailer found the fire was apparently not an accident.
"We did find evidence that the fire was set," Fulton said. "We discovered that a fire was set in the bedroom portion of the trailer and at the front 'living room' area, as well."
Those findings were immediately reported to local RCMP.
Cpl. Dave Ritchie of the Squamish RCMP Detachment said an investigation into the fire was currently ongoing.
"We have classified it as a suspicious fire and are investigating," said Ritchie.
Thieves target highway crews
Construction crews working to improve Hwy 99 are now looking to improve security on their work site after thieves made away with valuable equipment Monday (Jan. 9).
Cpl. Dave Ritchie of the Squamish RCMP said a Peter Kiewit and Sons Construction trail at the Britannia Beach work site was broken into sometime after 6 p.m. on Monday.
Reported missing from the trailer were a Sony projector, laptop computers, five flat screen monitors and three digital cameras.
