2nd 'deliberately set' fire at Vancouver Chinese Cultural Centre in as many months, police say

For the second time in three weeks, police are investigating a fire at Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre that they believe was deliberately set.

The latest blaze began just after 10 a.m. Thursday behind the building, in the same general area where a suspicious two-alarm fire was extinguished on March 26.

Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin told CTV News in an email Friday morning that police are "actively investigating" the latest fire and reviewing available surveillance video in the area.

"Evidence indicates the fire was deliberately set," Visintin wrote.

That would make it the second suspected arson in the lane behind the centre in recent weeks.

Late last month, police released video of a suspect they believe set the March 26 fire, which caused thousands of dollars in smoke and water damage to the building. 

Bill Kwok, the vice chair and treasurer of the Chinese Cultural Centre, told CTV News he believes the cost of repairing the damage from the last fire has risen to about $300,000.

The latest blaze was apparently set by someone who made it past the temporary fence set up by contractors working on repairs to the building, Kwok said.

"They started to burn the plywood that boarded up the last fire," he said.

Fortunately, crews were able to stop the fire from spreading to the building itself this time, and the people who were working inside when the blaze began were able to make it outside safely.

"I think it's very worrisome for us at this point, the time of day that this happened," Kwok said. "The last time was late in the afternoon and this time it was early in the morning, and most of the vandalism in the past happened overnight when there's no staff present. When you have a fire to a structure when, you know, you have people working inside, we worry about them getting hurt, getting killed."

He said he sees the apparent arsons as a worsening of crime targeting the cultural centre, where graffiti has been common in recent years.

Police have not said whether they believe the two suspicious fires are linked, but both investigations are ongoing.