Coquitlam man escapes suspected arson through side window
Officials say the front and rear entrances to the house were on fire when first responders arrived
A suspicious fire in Coquitlam, B.C., forced a man and his dog to escape their burning home through the side window early Friday morning.
The fire began sometime after 2 a.m. in the 800-block of Robinson Street.
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Assistant Coquitlam Fire Chief Stu Aspinall said his crews were met with significant flames when they arrived.
"There was substantial fire on both the front and the back of the house," said Aspinall. "[The flames were] 10 [to] 15 feet in the air and the fire had accessed into the attic."
Aspinall said the fire was reported by the resident, who found himself trapped inside the burning house.
"He called it in while he was inside the structure. He told our dispatcher that he couldn't get out conventionally, so the dispatcher advised him to go out the window."
Aspinall said it's odd that the front and rear doors would have been engulfed in flames, and that the fire appears to be very suspicious.
He couldn't immediately say if fuel was used to start the fire, adding that investigators with Coquitlam Fire and Rescue as well as Coquitlam RCMP would determine the exact cause.
