Items in a fenced off storage locker were charred, but there was minimal damage to the Sea Crest apartment building following fire late Sunday night. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

potential arson

Residents evacuated after fire on ground floor of downtown Nanaimo apartment building

Mar 20, 2023 | 9:50 AM

NANAIMO — Swift response from local fire crews has avoided any significant damage to a downtown apartment building.

Flames were reported coming from the ground floor of Sea Crest apartments at the corner of Front St. and Chapel St. around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 19.

Assistant fire chief Stu Kenning told NanaimoNewsNOW four trucks and 16 firefighters were on scene.

“It was a fire on the exterior of the building, between a dumpster and the storage area of the exterior of the building. When crews got there, they noticed the fire on the corner of the building and they immediately put water on it.”

Flames were quickly doused with minimal damage to the building itself.

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Kenning noted there were some contents lost from the storage area and smoke got inside.

“There was smoke getting sucked into the building, because there was an air handling unit and a vent there which sucked all the smoke in.”

Fans and ventilation helped remove the smoke, causing minimal damage. Residents were out of their homes for just under an hour according to Kenning.

Work crews on scene Monday morning re-establishing melted connections including communications lines said they believed someone climbed the fence and started the fire.

A number of melted cameras and lights were in the area.

It was the second major response of the weekend for local fire crews who also had to deal with an encampment fire along the Nanaimo Parkway on Friday, March 17.

A towering plume of smoke was visible across much of the city around 5:40 p.m. with multiple engines responding.

Kenning said it was a “fairly substantial shed” which had caught fire in brush north of Jingle Pot Rd.

“It was pretty well gone down to ashes when we got there, just due to the length of time (it had been burning) and the distance into the bush it was. It did take us time to access it and by the time we did it had basically burnt down to nothing.”

No-one associated with the encampment was on scene when crews arrived, while wet weather prevented much damage to surrounding trees or bush.

Kenning said they deployed a water tender as part of their efforts and carried an extra 5,000 gallons of water.

The investigation for both fires has been passed off to RCMP.

Despite large flames, there was minimal damage to the outside of Sea Crest apartments following a fire late Sunday night. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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