The fire that destroyed the Plaza Hotel last month was deliberately set, Victoria police confirmed Friday.
The department also released a new photograph to assist in a search for the building’s live-in caretaker, Mike Draeger.
Draeger has not been seen since the fire, which began on the morning of May 6 and smouldered for days. Police say a search of the rubble in the 600-block of Pandora Ave. did not uncover any human remains.
The new photo shows a clean-shaven Draeger, but police have not indicated when it was taken. Draeger sported a full beard in images released earlier that were taken from surveillance video recorded prior to the fire.
Police say major crime investigators worked with the Victoria Fire Department to identify the fire’s cause.
“These types of investigations are lengthy and appropriate resources continue to be dedicated to the investigation,” the department said in a statement.
“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, no further details can be released at this time.”
Victoria Fire Chief Paul Bruce was unavailable for an interview and Bill Eisenhauer, the city’s head of engagement, referred all inquiries about the arson investigation to the police.
Bruce told reporters last month that the fire seemed suspicious because it was already raging when firefighters arrived, an indication that it either accelerated quickly or had been burning undetected. As well, a fire alarm and sprinkler system, which were tested and working on March 21 and April 26, did not appear to have functioned during the fire. The first alarm came from a neighbouring building.
Andrea Ting-Letts, who owns Beatnik Goods at the MokSana Yoga Center, 613 Pandora, said Friday that it came as no surprise to her that investigators concluded the fire was arson, given the mysterious circumstances of the blaze.
“I’m not shocked,” she said.
Ting-Letts said businesses are keen to see rubble removed from the site.
“The biggest impact on our business, both the studio and the shop, was closure of our sidewalk access to Government Street,” she said. “We just moved to this particular building in November and we moved here because it was great street access and more exposure. So to have basically our artery to the busiest street in Victoria be cut off, really had a huge impact on our business.”
Ting-Letts said a makeshift sidewalk along Pandora recently opened, but a section of the sidewalk along Government Street remains closed.
“We’re desperately waiting for all this gigantic pile of rubble to be removed,” she said.
Victoria council agreed this month to issue a heritage alteration permit to allow the hotel’s owner, Ocean Gate Developments Ltd., to clean up the site, providing the company saves a number of heritage elements, including two polished-granite columns, a section of white-glazed brick from the upper storeys, and heavy structural timbers that suffered minor fire damage.
A company spokesman could not be reached for comment Friday, and a city spokesperson was unable to say when the clean-up will begin.
Anyone with information about the fire, or Mike Draeger’s whereabouts, are asked to call police at (250) 995-7654 or Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
