Surrey, B.C., church destroyed in fire; Mounties investigating suspicious circumstances
Looking for the latest on the church fire? Here's our coverage from July 20.
SURREY, B.C. -- A Surrey, B.C., church has been destroyed after a massive fire early Monday morning.
Flames broke out at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church on 108 Avenue and 139 Street shortly after 3:30 a.m.
By the time firefighters arrived the building was engulfed in flames and it was upgraded to a third-alarm fire.
Crews took a defensive strategy to stop the flames from spreading to nearby homes.
“We were worried about exposures; we’ve got one residential house to the east of it. We wanted to make sure the flying embers weren’t igniting anything else,” said Assistant Chief Shelley Morris, of the Surrey Fire Service.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
“We don’t know the cause at this time. We’ll be investigating later today once we fully douse the fire.”
Surrey RCMP has confirmed there was an attempted arson at the church last week, and the investigation is ongoing.
Surveillance video, provided from the church and dated last Wednesday at 2:30 a.m., shows a woman approaching the front door of the building and lighting it on fire.
Members of the church say there was some damage to the door and they’ve been working with police to identify the suspect.
“It is disturbing that the church has now burnt,” said Sgt. Elenore Sturko with the Surrey RCMP. “We will be investigating both of these incidents separately, and this time there is no indication that these two incidents are linked, but we will be looking very closely at both the circumstances.”
Some in the congregation feel the church was deliberately set ablaze.
“I think it's arson and I think it has probably to do with the burning of churches that's happening around the country, where there is no distinction between one type of church or another type of church,” said Medhat Elmasry, a church board member.
Sturko said the string of fires targeting various churches is also on the minds of police.
“We also are aware that there have been other church fires across British Columbia and other parts of Canada, and we are alive to that. We don't have any information to suggest is related to any of those other incidents at this time, but our officers, and the Surrey Fire Service, are treating this as suspicious at this time,” she said.
Elmasry said the church has been there since the '90s and more than 380 families attend it.
“It feels really bad, because… it's our life, our churches, our life. We spend a lot of time in our church. And we have a large congregation. So I speak on behalf of my congregation. I'm sure we're all heartbroken at the moment,” he told CTV News.
He said many of the items inside of the church are irreplaceable.
“There are relics of saints that are totally priceless. That must have gone in these flames. You cannot recover those," he said, adding that he hopes the person responsible is caught.
“My message is: what have you achieved? What did you do this for? You targeted a peaceful community, a peaceful church.”
The church was also home to a daycare.
The operators told CTV News they have insurance, but are concerned about where the 65 kids they usually look after will go.
Officials say 108 Avenue near 139 Street is expected to be shutdown for several hours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.