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UPDATE: Fire at old Stewart Avenue restaurant started in basement

Investigation determines where fire started, but not why or how
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Nanaimo Fire Rescue has concluded its investigation into a fire that gutted a vacant building on Stewart Avenue and determined where, but not how the fire started. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)

The probe into Thursday’s fire that gutted a former restaurant has left investigators able to say where the fire started, but not why or how.

Capt. Ennis Mond, Nanaimo Fire Rescue’s chief fire investigations officer, concluded the investigation into the blaze Friday afternoon. Mond could not find sufficient evidence to determine what sparked the blaze.

“The fire started in the basement bathroom and spread from there to the rest of the building,” Mond said. “The cause is undetermined.”

Mond noted that the building was not locked at the time of the fire.

“The building was not secure. That’s the drawback of it all,” he said.

  • RELATED: Fire guts former waterfront restaurant in Nanaimo



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Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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