Suspicious fire breaks out at the same Second Avenue home in Chilliwack Friday

“I didn’t hear any sounds of people going through the property,” said Rachelle, who was only asked for her first name by a reporter. “I was actually sitting in my kitchen at the island and I heard popping like a fire. I said, ‘That’s strange, I should run next door.’ ”

After Rachelle ran to get a better look from her bedroom, which faces the burning home to the west, she said she saw flames and smoke emanating from 46290 Second Avenue.

“I was like, I gotta call 911, out of the house everyone!” Rachelle said. “We were lucky the wind was blowing west.”

Rachelle says she was one of at least two people who called 911 to report the structure fire. She estimates it was about 10 minutes before fire trucks arrived. She said there hadn’t been any suspicious activity ever since the first fire happened on Tuesday, February 28.

“I know the tenant had been back to finally able take some of her things from the property,” Rachelle said. “Other than that, I hadn’t seen any activity.”

The house was unoccupied Friday morning.

Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / PML

According to a news release from Chilliwack Fire Chief Ian Josephson on February 28, 25 firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 5:03 a.m. at 46290 Second Avenue. On arrival, firefighters found smoke venting from the eaves of a two-storey, unoccupied residential house.

Firefighters gained access and worked to swiftly extinguish the fire. There was minor fire and water damage with significant smoke damage to the remainder of the house, Chief Josephson said. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries.

The fire was already under investigation by Chilliwack Fire Department and RCMP fire investigators before Friday morning’s blaze.

by Mike Vanden Bosch

Suspicious fire breaks out at the same Second Avenue home in Chilliwack Friday

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