Image: Julie Hiscock, used with her permission / This abandoned residence and former drug house caught fire overnight, prompting a response from the Chilliwack Fire Department Thursday morning at about 1:31 a.m. Firefighters were able to suppress the small house fire before it spread. The fire on the main floor was struck by 2:06 a.m. The house is a former drug house. On December 4, 2022, members of the Chilliwack RCMP Priority Target Team executed a search warrant at this home after observing a large quantity of foot traffic in and out of the residence. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Fire breaks out at former drug house

Small fire breaks out at former drug house in Chilliwack early Thursday

Jun 15, 2023 | 9:10 AM

CHILLIWACK — An abandoned residence and former drug house on Third Avenue in Chilliwack caught fire overnight, prompting a response from the Chilliwack Fire Department.

According to Chilliwack resident Julie Hiscock, who works graveyard shift and monitors scanner traffic most nights, Chilliwack firefighters were dispatched at about 1:31 a.m. early Thursday morning (June 15) for the report of a structure fire.

Engine 1 arrived on scene at 1:37 a.m. Firefighters encountered a small house fire including smoke coming from the eaves. Firefighters extinguished the small fire on the main floor by 2:06 a.m.

Image: Julie Hiscock, used with her permission

The property has since been boarded up again with a metal fence along the Third Avenue perimeter. Piles of debris and unsightly garbage continue to occupy the property.

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The home is the scene of a former drug house.

According to a news story from Fraser Valley Today dated December 15, 2022, an active drug house on Third Avenue just two blocks east of Young Road near downtown Chilliwack was raided earlier this month by the Chilliwack RCMP, resulting in the seizure of large amounts of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

On Sunday, December 4, 2022, members of the Chilliwack RCMP Priority Target Team executed a search warrant in the 46100 block of Third Avenue in Chilliwack after observing a large quantity of foot traffic in and out of the residence.

According to a news release from RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Krista Vrolyk, police discovered approximately 15 people inside the residence once they entered the home. A search of the residence resulted in the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl along with scales, packaging and other paraphernalia. Police have not identified the quantities or furnished pictures.

Fraser Valley Today spoke with three neighbours on Third Avenue near the suspected drug house on Wednesday morning, Dec. 14. Two of the three neighbours identified the house as 46196 Third Avenue.

Back in December 2022, Chilliwack RCMP Sgt. Krista Vrolyk previously said the investigation remained active, but she didn’t believe any charges had been sent to the B.C. Prosecution Service at that time.

“I don’t know how long they’ve been looking at [this house],” Sgt. Vrolyk said. “Officers did observe a large amount of foot traffic when they were in the area, which kind of alerted their attention. We gathered evidence to obtain a search warrant for the controlled substances. We took the drugs off the street. It is unusual to have 15 people inside a residence; generally that’s not common to see that amount of people inside a residence.”