Coquitlam Fire and Rescue believe a blaze that broke out at a home in the 800-block of Robinson Street early Friday morning may have been deliberately set.
Nobody was injured in the incident but one man had to wait for fire crews to arrive and knock down some of the flames before escaping the home, which had fire burning at both the front and back door.
"We consider it suspicious because we have fire occurring at multiple locations," said Fire Chief Wade Pierlot. "It is rare to have fire occurring at two different points. That is a suspicious one and a disturbing one."
The resident of the home awoke to the sound of the fire and immediately called emergency officials. At one point he said he may climb out a window but decided against it, fearing he could get stuck.
Crews arrived a short time later and knocked down the blaze at the back door, allowing the occupant to make his escape.
The fire at the front of the house was harder to contain, Pierlot said.
It moved quickly up into the attic of the structure and crews spent about two hours trying to get the flames under control. By 4 a.m., the fire was out.
Pierlot said crews have to exercise even more caution in situations where blazes may have been deliberately set because in some cases other flammable materials are placed around the home.
"We never know if there is more," he said. "We really have to be careful and look around."
The Coquitlam RCMP are involved in the investigation.
