One woman jumped out a kitchen window to escape a blaze that engulfed two manufactured homes on the Songhees Nation on Tuesday night. West Shore RCMP say the blaze is suspicious and investigators are looking for witnesses.
The fire started in one home just after 11 p.m. and the flames quickly jumped from the carport to a neighbouring home and a vehicle. The View Royal fire department was called at 11:15 p.m.
Dozens of firefighters from the View Royal, Colwood and Esquimalt fire departments battled the blaze in the homes on the 1500 block of Middle Road.
Firefighters were initially told that people were trapped inside the homes and went inside to check, said View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst.
“That was a hectic 10 minutes there, when the crews were inside,” he said.
The two occupants of the home where the fire started were able to escape through the kitchen window and four occupants of the second home escaped through the door. No one was injured.
Firefighters carried out an aggressive interior attack to keep the fire from spreading to other units.
One trailer was reduced to a blackened shell, while the other one was heavily damaged.
West Shore RCMP have received information that leads investigators to believe the fire is suspicious, said Cpl. Chris Dovell, who is on the investigative team.
No arrests have been made.
Mounties and fire investigators from View Royal and Colwood fire departments were on scene Wednesday collecting evidence.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Hurst said if the blaze had happened at 3 or 4 a.m., it likely would have had a much worse outcome.
“If it hadn’t have been detected by a neighbour, it would have burned unchecked for a considerable amount of time,” Hurst said.
The six people displaced were assisted by Emergency Social Services and have been offered hotel rooms or have found places to stay with family, Hurst said.
