Two buildings destroyed by fire at former military base in Chilliwack
Firefighters extinguish a massive blaze on the former CFB land at about 7 a.m. Tuesday.
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Updated: November 24, 2009 4:57 PM
An illegal break-in is suspected in the blaze that erupted Monday morning in a vacant three-storey building slated for demolition at the old CFB Chilliwack property.
"The fire is being treated as suspicious as all services had been cut to the building," RCMP Cpl. Lea-Anne Dunlop said. "There was (no power connection) feeding the building that would cause the fire on its own."
The building, the largest of three slated for demolition on the site, is owned by the University of the Fraser Valley and had been hit earlier by thieves who had stripped it of its copper wiring.
Chilliwack fire officials said about 100 firefighters battled the blaze that was reported at 6 a.m. by passersby who saw flames coming from the third storey of the building.
"First-in crews were confronted by a large fire within a complex of buildings which were in the process of being dismantled," Capt. Don Van Beest said.
"The fire had a strong hold on the first three-storey building and was making progress into a second adjacent building," he said. Both buildings were destroyed.
The buildings were built in the early 1990s as housing for military officers.
A UFV spokesperson said the fire would have no impact on the university's plans for a new campus, which are currently focused in another section of the Canada Education Park.
