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Homeless known to camp near church struck by arson

Neighbour happened to see blaze before it got out of control
08 Trinity United 3 WEB
Prince George RCMP are investigating after a small fire was set on the exterior of Trinity United Church early Sunday morning.

Chances are a Prince George church that was the scene of a suspicious fire over the weekend was the victim of run-of-the-mill mischief rather than one in of a string of arsons across Canada following the discovery of unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools.

Firefighters were called to the Trinity United Church in the 3500 block of Fifth Avenue at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday to extinguish a small fire on the  building's exterior.

The fire has since been deemed a case of arson.

While she said it's too early in the investigation to determine whether the intent behind the blaze was "malicious" or "politically motivated," Prince George RCMP Cst. Jennifer Cooper said Wednesday that police have been told the church has had to deal with vandalism in the past and that homeless like to camp nearby.

Cooper also noted Trinity United represents a different denomination than the Catholic churches that have been targeted by fire and vandalism in the days since the graves were discovered. In Canada, the Catholic church ran about two-thirds of the schools, the last of which was closed in 1996.

Cooper credited the quick action of a neighbour for preventing the fire from getting bigger than it was, saying the person woke up in the middle of the night, happened to see blaze and called 911.

"Thankfully, the witness happened to see it early on and the fire department was able to get on it," RCMP Cst. Jennifer Cooper said Wednesday. "Chances are, if you drove past the church right now you wouldn't even be able to see where it was."

RCMP are asking anyone with information about this event or who may have dash cam footage or surveillance from that neighbourhood between the hours of 1:45 a.m. and 2:25 a.m. to contact police.

Small fires have been fairly common in other spots around the city where the homeless tend to congregate. 

"There have been fires that have started recently and gotten out of control but not necessarily from malicious intent," Cooper said. 

On the night of June 18, the Special Beauty Parlor and Day Spa at 1180 Third Ave. downtown suffered extensive damage in a fire officials have deemed suspicious and appeared to have been started in a second-floor suite on the roof of the salon.