A devastating fire engulfed a three-storey character building near downtown Victoria Sunday night, marking the second significant fire incident in the area within a few weeks.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:58 p.m. on July 2nd, resulting in the complete destruction of the building, which was undergoing renovation at the time.
Upon receiving reports of a structure fire, Victoria fire crews were immediately dispatched to the building situated at 2531 Government Street, behind the old Victoria Buzz office.
The first fire crews were on scene within four minutes of the first 911 call and were met with “towering flames shooting vertically into the still, windless, July night sky.”
“Attacking from the Douglas Street side, Engine 3’s Deck Gun (a high-volume, roof-mounted water cannon) and a ground monitor were able to apply massive amounts of water very quickly,” reads a post on Instagram by the Victoria Fire Department.
Within a few minutes, additional fire crews arrived who began battling the blaze from both Douglas Street and Government Street.
“The heritage building had good access on both Douglas Street and Government Street, as well as vantage points on the rooftops of the neighbouring buildings,” read the post.
Their coordinated actions successfully protected neighboring structures from the intense heat and prevented the spread of the fire.
According to the fire department, the blaze was extinguished relatively quickly.
This incident follows a fire that destroyed Ricky’s All Day Grill located at 2900 Douglas Street on June 16th, just a few blocks away from the recent incident—which was deemed arson.
“Chief of Investigations and Prevention Megan Sabel has begun her assessment of the fire. At this point, it is still uncertain what caused the fire just meters from the recent Ricky’s Grill fire,” read the social media post.
“This area of Victoria has definitely been through the wringer.”
There were no injuries in either of the fires.
