Parksville Fire Department responded to a recent early-morning fire in an alley between the buildings at the Parksville Heritage Centre.
A passerby reported seeing smoke coming from the area on June 7 at approximately 2:45 a.m and believed it was structure fire.
The Parksville Fire Department’s first responders attended the scene and located a small fire on top of picnic table which they quickly extinguished.
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Oceanside RCMP investigators believe an unknown person lit a candle on the table, fell asleep and awoke to the table on fire. The person ran off before the first responders arrived.
Fire chief Marc Norris said he is not sure why the person was there.
“We found remnants of the candle in the area and it was on the wooden picnic table,” said Norris. “It was a minor fire but if there were more combustible things there, it could have been a serious incident.”
— NEWS Staff