Fire at unfinished Vancouver home considered suspicious, police investigating

Vancouver police are investigating a suspicious fire that tore through an under-construction home in the city Friday night.

Flames ripped the unfinished building on Argyle Street between 32nd and 33rd avenues around 9 p.m., spreading to two neighbouring residences before firefighters were able to get it under control.

Video shared on Reddit Saturday morning purports to be from the area where the fire occurred. It shows a man carrying what appears to be a gasoline can into a construction site. 

The Vancouver Police Department said it is aware of the video and looking into it. CTV News has reached out to the poster of the video in hopes of confirming some details about it. This story will be updated if a response is received.

Firefighters described the blaze as "suspicious."

Vancouver Fire Rescue Service Asst. Chief Brian Bertuzzi told reporters at the scene that crews arrived to find flames coming out of "pretty much every window frame" in the under-construction home.

"Both the houses on either side – the north and the south – received fire damage," Bertuzzi said. "The fire and the heat broke through windows on the upper floors and extended into the roof and took out the roof on the north house."

Residents of the two adjacent homes were displaced by the blaze, but no injuries have been reported, the assistant chief said.

Smoke and flames from the fire could be seen from blocks away, and Bertuzzi said crews quickly escalated the fire to a third alarm because of its intensity.

"You've got bare wood, exposed wood, rapid fire spread and no drywall or anything to contain it, so it was just – it was wide open and extreme heat," Bertuzzi said.