Could an early morning fire at a development lot in Ladner have been deliberately set? A witness to the fire sure thinks so.
Ladner resident Donovan Britten, who lives in a nearby condo, saw the fire around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at a lot under development on 51st St. across from the Ladner Pioneer Library.
“I went outside and the flames were right across from the library where the new development is going in,” said Britten, who shared a video with the Optimist of the fire and response from the Delta fire department. “The fire was right in front of the bulldozer, so there was a lot of chopped trees and it was starting to go onto the next tree.”
Britten said he spoke with two other witnesses who mentioned to him that they had seen two boys on bikes in the area about 20 minutes before the fire started.
He said another nearby resident also said he heard voices of two boys around the same time.
“I usually listen to a crackling fire or forest waves to get to sleep. I was listening to a camp fire on my IPad and I woke up and thought it was weird that it was still playing on my IPad, then I look out and see an actual fire,” Britten recalled. “I don’t know how I woke up but I’m glad I did. If it was kids who set the fire, they just don’t understand what could have happened. What if it spread to the bulldozer? It could have turned into a pretty major blaze.”
Deputy Delta fire Chief Guy McKintuck confirmed that firefighters were on scene just after 3:30 a.m. and had the fire quickly contained.
He said he could not comment on the cause of the fire or whether it was suspicious in nature.
