'Volatile' fire at Vancouver's PNE considered suspicious, police say

Explosions and 30-metre flames were part of a volatile fire that lit up part of the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver overnight.

Now, Vancouver police say the fire is considered suspicious and their major crime section is investigating.

The Vancouver Police Department says in a news release Sunday that the patrol officers discovered the blaze shortly after midnight and alerted Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.

Assistant Fire Chief Brian Bertuzzi says crews responded to the blaze on the northwest corner of the grounds at around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

He says no one was on site at the time of the blaze and no firefighters were injured putting it out.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause.

The VPD says the fire caused thousands of dollars in damage, including to approximately 20 vehicles that were parked in the area.

Sunday afternoon, VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison told reporters the evidence investigators have found at the scene so far suggests that the fire was started by a person, which is what makes it suspicious.

It's unclear whether the person who started the fire did so deliberately or accidentally, Addison said, adding that investigators will be working to answer that question in the coming days.

Bertuzzi says there was a high fuel load on site, including 500 litres of gasoline storage and high-pressure propane tanks.

He says two Zambonis and up to a dozen trucks were involved in the fire, which did not affect the part of the grounds where horses are kept.

“It was a very large, volatile fire with many explosions and flames shooting upward,” Bertuzzi said. “The fire is under investigation right now.”

PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance told CTV News the fire happened in an area that the organization refers to as its "technical works yard."

"There are two buildings that make up this complex," Ballance said. "The building that burned was the smaller of the two, and we really must commend Vancouver Fire Services for their quick action on this, because it did prevent us losing both buildings, which would've had a much more serious effect to our overall operations."

The larger building houses some PNE memorabilia, and Ballance said the organization is "incredibly grateful" that no one was injured and none of the memorabilia, nor any of the historic buildings on the PNE grounds were damaged.

While the loss of the smaller building will have some impact on the background operations of the PNE, Ballance said the organization doesn't expect there to be any effect on any upcoming public events at the site.

With files from The Canadian Press