FIRES – Five suspicious fires around town being investigated

Police are investigating five suspicious fires reported between Saturday and Monday morning.

On April 1, 2024, around 1:20 a.m., police were called to their fifth fire in just over 48 hours – a residential complex on the 400-block of St. Paul Street. According to the report, a loud boom was heard, followed by flames on the east side of the building.

A jerry can was located nearby as part of the ongoing investigation. No one was injured in the fire, which was quickly extinguished by Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR).

The fire was the last one reported in a series over the weekend, which began on Saturday March 30, around 1 a.m. on the 800-block of Valhalla Drive.

“At that time, police received multiple reports of an explosion caused by what appeared to be a molotov cocktail thrown at a building,” said Cpl. Crystal Evelyn.

“A man associated to a pickup truck was observed in the area.”

The second fire was reported shortly after, around 2 a.m., at a motel on the 1800-block of the East Trans Canada Highway, where KFR notified police of a small fire outside an electrical room, that appeared to be intentionally lit.

Nearby, on the 2000-block of the East Trans Canada Highway, around 3:10 a.m., Kamloops RCMP received another fire report, this one involving five cedar hedges. No damage was done to a nearby building.

By about 6:55 a.m., Tk’emlúps Rural RCMP Detachment officers had been called to the 400-block of Chilcotin Road, where firefighters had extinguished a fire that damaged the rear of a building. Three vehicles outside also appeared vandalized.

“While there are some similarities in a couple of the reports, there are also a lot of differences,” said Cpl. Evelyn. “At this time, the motives and any connection between the fires is still under investigation.”

From the Valhalla occurrence, video of a pickup truck and a person in the area were captured. The image quality of the suspect is poor, but others in the area may have recorded something clearer.

In the St. Paul investigation, a suspect is described as wearing:

A blue hooded zip jacket with reflective strip on the right sleeves near the wrist, a large reflective patch on the right chest side and a wide reflective strip across the upper back;

A black zippered backpack with the main zip pocket and a small zip pocket in the front;

Dark pants, gloves and a toque under the jacket hood;

Black shoes with white soles.

Those with information that may be related are asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP Detachment at 250-828-3000.