STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Vacant Nanaimo restaurant gutted after overnight fire

Oct 19, 2017 | 9:26 AM

NANAIMO — A Nanaimo restaurant which sat vacant for several years is now the shell of its former self after a fire tore through inside. 

Nanaimo Fire Rescue was called to the old Nauticals seafood restaurant in the 1300 block of Stewart Ave. at roughly 2:20 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters finally left the scene just after 7 a.m.

Investigators were on scene around 8 a.m. Thursday. Since their work had just begun, few details about the fire were available. Windows were smashed and the inside was heavily charred.

Investigator Ennis Mond confirmed the building was vacant at the time and it was unclear how much damage was caused by the fire and how much was damage from years of vacancy.