Sechelt firefighters stopped a suspicious blaze on Sechelt Elementary School grounds last Sunday.
The call came in at 1:01 p.m. Sunday, Aug 13 when a resident of the Greencourt apartments smelled smoke and saw a blaze moving quickly through the grass on the school grounds.
"There was a good breeze going and the grass fire blew along until it engulfed an area about a quarter of an acre in size on the north side of Sechelt Elementary," Sechelt fire chief Bill Higgs said.
Firefighters were on scene within three minutes and had the fire knocked down in approximately three minutes. Once the blaze was completely extinguished firefighters found evidence that it may have been set purposely.
"We found two packs of matches burnt up near the point of origin," Higgs said, noting the Sunshine Coast RCMP are now investigating some possible leads in the case.
Higgs said the fire could have easily spread to the nearby forest and set ablaze the Shorncliffe nursing home.
"Things are really, really dry right now and these grass fires move quickly and unpredictably. This one could have easily made it to the forest and to Shorncliffe where people are very sensitive to smoke and many can't move very quickly. It could have been a real serious threat," Higgs said.
He thinks the fire was probably set by kids playing with matches in the area and wants to remind parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of playing with fire.
"I'm sure they didn't mean for it to take off like it did, but that's what can happen. If this story helps parents talk to their kids and prevents them from playing with matches then that's a real good thing. That's the message we want to get out there," Higgs said.
Police are requesting that anyone with information about the suspected arson contact them at 604-885-2266.
