An image of an arson suspect captured from the security camera footage at AJ's Pets and Things on Sept. 6, 2015.
Image Credit: Facebook/AJ's Pets and Things
September 13, 2015 - 11:30 AM
VERNON – The owner of a Vernon pet story is hoping someone recognizes the man suspected of starting a fire on the Labour Day long weekend.
A video taken by AJ’s Pets and Things security camera has been posted to the store’s Facebook page.
Firefighters were called to the downtown store early in the morning Sept. 6 to find a fire burning in the rear of the building. The fire was quickly put out but not before smoke filled the store. None of the animals were hurt.
The store's owner is also trying to track down the homeless man who is being called a hero.
The man noticed the smoke and tried to put out the fire with a bucket of sand used by smokers at the KFC next door, according to the Facebook post.
The video also shows the man scooping water from a puddle with a drink cup from the garbage and throwing it on fire at the store’s back door for about 30 minutes before fire crews arrived.
“Can't wait to shake his hand and thank him,” the post says.
Vernon RCMP are investigating the fire, one of two suspicious blazes in the city that weekend.
SECURITY CAMERA VIDEO OF SUSPECT
This is our security camera footage of the guy who tried to burn down our store. Hope we get him!!
Posted by AJ's Pets & Things on Saturday, September 12, 2015
SECURITY CAMERA VIDEO OF GOOD SAMARITAN
This is the guy who put it out. What a hero this guy is. We are so grateful to him for saving our store. The fire dept said another 15-20 min the fire would have burned its way through the door. This guy put it out using the cigarette bucket full of sand from down the alley, and after he dumped that he used a drink cup from KFC 's garbage to scoop water from a puddle into the bucket. He did this 5 times for a total of about 30minutes. This all happened about 6:10am Sunday morning. Can't wait to shake his hand and thank him.
Posted by AJ's Pets & Things on Saturday, September 12, 2015
To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015