A house in downtown Parksville suffered extensive damage from what fire officials deemed a suspicious blaze that took place early Friday morning.
Parksville Fire Department were dispatched to the scene on Hirst Avenue East, adjacent to the Coldwell Banker Slegg Realty building, after receiving the call at 5:41 a.m.
“We came on-scene and we had fire in the rear of the structure and in the roof area,” said fire chief Marc Norris. “The building was vacant at the time. We were able to extinguish the fire in the roof.”
Norris said the fire was suspicious.
“It looks like it started on the outside of the structure and we will be investigating along with the RCMP,” said Norris.
It took firefighters an hour to control the fire.
“There’s extensive damage from the smoke and the ceiling falling down,” said Norris. “It’s tough to say whether they will repair the structure or tear it down. That will be up to the insurer and the owner.”