A stretch of 8A Avenue was cordoned off with police tape early Oct. 10 after firefighters put out an overnight blaze at an abandoned home across the street from South Delta Secondary School.
It was the second time in three days the Delta Fire Department has been summoned in the middle of the night to put out a fire at an empty residence on this normally quiet suburban street.
Delta Police have declared the Oct. 7 fire that destroyed a property at 5375 8A Ave. and damaged two others to be “suspicious.” It seems unlikely another one three days later that burned down an abandoned two-storey yellow house 5361 8A Ave. that had already been damaged in the previous fire won’t be considered suspicious as well.
All of the homes were vacant and were slated for demolition in advance of a proposed new housing development.
First responders arrived at this second fire around 12:30 a.m. and found the property fully engulfed in flame. No injuries were reported.
“A second suspicious fire this week in Tsawwassen is very concerning to police,” said Delta Police spokesperson Cris Leykauf. “Delta Police are actively pursuing tips and other investigative avenues, and have devoted considerable resources to this matter.”
She added more patrols will be added to the area.
“If you were in the area just before or after 12:30 a.m Oct 10, and believe you saw something that may be of interest to police, or if you have dash cam video, please call 604-946-4411,” said Leykauf.
The latest fire comes just over a week after another suspicious fire at a tattoo shop in Ladner Village that police believe to be unrelated and have released a photo of a person of interest.
Paul Sobieski, a mortgage broker who lives nearby and was playing tennis at a court located across the street Thursday morning, said he suspects it was “probably drug dealers” who are to blame for the fire.
Grade 11 student Kaden Read-Friedmann said he frequently goes for evening walks along the street and has never noticed activity in any of the abandoned homes, adding they aren’t a place teenagers go to hang out.
“I went for a walk last night and there was nothing here around 9 or 10 o’clock,” he said. “There wasn’t any sign of anyone having a party or anything like that.“
