Kamloops mayor-elect calls timing of fire at his car lot 'odd'
The mayor-elect of Kamloops got a surprising call after an SUV went up in flames on the lot of his used car dealership this morning.
He owns Tru Market, a car dealership on Victoria Street West, where firefighters doused the flames at around 6:30 a.m. today, Oct. 19.
"I think it's kind of odd it'd get burnt days after I'm elected mayor of Kamloops," Mayor-elect Reid Hamer-Jackson said.
The back of the vehicle where the fire started is just out of frame from the building's surveillance cameras, but it shows a man walking away on a crutch as the glow from the flames grow. He's later standing with another person across the street, watching as firefighters douse the flames.
As for whether he thinks it's an arson or a campfire that grew out of control, Hamer-Jackson wouldn't say.
"I don't like to speculate. I like hard facts," he said.
RCMP said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
“Police have located and spoken with one person observed in the area at the time of the blaze,” Kamloops RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Crystal Evelyn said in a news release. “Officers are currently reviewing security footage to see if they can confirm and identify the presence of two other people who were also allegedly in the area and may have information relevant to the investigation.
It's not the first time Hamer-Jackson has had fires and criminal activity at his business. A storage building on the car lot was scorched earlier this year, and he's had numerous vehicles damaged and broken into.
Anyone with video or information related to this incident, who has not yet spoken with police, is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.
— This story was updated at 11:48 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, with comment from RCMP.
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