Witnesses sought as RCMP investigate 'suspicious' Vancouver Island school fire
Firefighters respond to a suspicious fire at Alexander Elementary School in Duncan, B.C., on Dec. 31, 2024. (Credit: Nigel Robertson)
Mounties are investigating a suspicious fire that damaged a school building on southern Vancouver Island.
Police were called to the structure fire at the back of Alexander Elementary School in North Cowichan at around 10 p.m. on Dec. 31.
The affected building, located at 2471 Beverly Street, was not occupied at the time of the blaze, the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP said in a statement Friday.
Police did not describe the extent of the damage, but images posted online show firefighters battling smoke and flames inside at least one classroom area.
"While the back pod area suffered significant fire and water damage, the main building was not affected," the Cowichan Valley School District said in a statement Wednesday.
Investigators have since deemed the fire suspicious and are now looking for surveillance images and dash-camera video from the area.
"Somebody who wasn't supposed to be there broke in and lit the fire somehow," Chief Ron French of the North Cowichan Fire Department said Wednesday.
Despite the damage, the school is expected to reopen to students following the winter break on Jan. 6.
Anyone with information related to the investigation is asked to contact the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP non-emergency line at 250-748-5522.
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