Abbotsford police confirm a house fire earlier this week was intentionally set – and one of the occupants says it could be the work of neo-Nazis.
The fire was reported in the 33900-block of Old Yale Road early Monday morning. Const. Ian MacDonald told ctvbc.ca that a dangerous accelerant and a fuse were found at the scene.
"It's arson, no question about it. It's moved far beyond ‘suspicious fire'," he said.
A witness told police he heard a loud blast at around 2:30 a.m. and ran outside to see his neighbours' house on fire. He woke up the two occupants, and they managed to quickly extinguish the blaze using buckets of water.
The fire did not spread past the basement doorway, and no one was injured.
One of the occupants is a local anti-racism activist, MacDonald said, who believes he may have drawn attention from local neo-Nazis.
"We are treating that theory seriously, as well as any other theory we receive."
Police say they are concerned by the type of fuse device and amount of accelerant used, and are asking the public to aid in their investigation.
MacDonald urged neighbours in particular to come forward. The fuse device used was several feet long and would have taken time to set up, he said.
"We're looking for any information on this," MacDonald said. "This is a residential area that doesn't have a lot of video surveillance."
The Abbotsford police Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Abbotsford police at 604-859-5225 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
