Fire investigators have pinpointed the cause of an electrical fire that burned Nanaimo’s historic Jean Burns Building on March 30 as a bathroom-exhaust fan.
“It was in the ceiling of the bathroom of one of the units on the first floor,” said Ennis Mond, chief fire-prevention officer for Nanaimo Fire Rescue. “It spread up and into the void space between the first floor and the second floor.
“You don’t want to be in an old building like that if the fire’s ripping through the floors.”
Such fires can break out when lint builds up in the fan, he said.
Fifteen businesses were located in the building.
Rick Hyne of building owner Crankshaw Holdings said the structure will be assessed by a surveyor from the insurance company “to determine if it’s a rebuild or if it’s a tear-down.”
That determination will take about six weeks, he said.
Hyne said the surveyor will also come up with a damage estimate.
