Fort St. James RCMP now have two suspicious fires to investigate.
The latest alarm sounded Sunday at about 4 a.m., when flames leapt up the front wall of the Nak'azdli Men's Drop-In Center.
"The crew of 10 fire fighters quickly extinguished the blaze, but not before significant damage was done to the exterior of the building," said Fort St. James RCMP Staff Sgt. Paul Thalhofer. "The nature of this fire is considered suspicious and is being actively investigated by the RCMP and the Fort St. James Fire Department."
So, too, are the remnants of a fire that totally destroyed the Stuart Lake community's recycling centre on May 21. It also started in the wee hours of the morning.
"It is certainly suspicious for a community the size of Fort St. James to have two structure fires in such a close time frame, and each one is also individually suspicious," said RCMP North District spokeswoman Const. Lesley Smith. "We are looking at the files as individual cases as well as looking for possible connects that would link them together."
The first fire has being investigated as an arson while forensic work is still underway on the most recent fire.
The men's health centre received about $45,000 in smoke and water damage. Evaluations are underway to see if alternate locations can be found for the programs affected.
