Neighbour who put out East Vancouver blaze with garden hose now searching for suspect
Adrian thought the yelling coming from the lane behind his home last Wednesday morning was bizarre.
It was just before 6 a.m., and he wasn’t even fully awake.
“I ran to the back deck and looked out my back window, and I immediately saw smoke rising from my alley,” he said.
A neighbour who had driven up on the blaze, which appeared to have been sparked in a box of donated items at the base of a hydro poll near East 20th Avenue and Renfrew Street, had tried to put it out with his flask of coffee.
Adrian went for the garden hose.
Firefighters showed up minutes later.
But it wasn’t until Adrian and other neighbours checked their home surveillance cameras that they realized the arsonist had been caught in the act.
“(We) just had this beautiful shot of him actually doing it,” Adrian said.
He asked that his last name not be used over concerns he could face retaliation.
A neighbour, who gave her first name as Luna, confirmed her family’s laneway camera had recorded a clear frontal view of the suspect as he approached the crime scene.
Other video provided by neighbours shows the man, wearing a black and white tracksuit, white sneakers, and walking with a distinctive gait, stop and crouch down near the box, then after a few moments, walk away.
Within seconds, video shows a plume of a smoke growing from the box. And moments later, full on flames.
Luna told CTV News she was shocked.
"Everybody’s very nice, a very peaceful neighbourhood,” she said, adding that a community centre, park, and school are just steps away.
“I dont know what happened. Why people set fire randomly,” Lunda said.
Vancouver Police confirmed to CTV News they are investigating the blaze, with no arrests made or suspects identified.
“We are reviewing the circumstances, including the location, suspect description, and MO to determine if this has links to any similar incidents in the area,” wrote Sgt. Steve Addison.
VPD also noted that this year, as of June 13, there have been 160 “incidents” related to arson, about the same number for the same period last year.
Adrian, who said he had spoken with fire investigators, edited together video from different neighbours’ cameras and uploaded it to YouTube.
“If there’s something I can do to hopefully create a better sense of safety around my neighbourhood, that’s the only goal really,” Adrian said.
“Big fires start as small fires, and luckily we caught ours,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.