Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying three people of interest in a fire that destroyed an under-construction apartment complex in east Vancouver.
The Vancouver Fire Arson Team, which includes detectives from Vancouver police, are investigating the fire which was first reported the blaze at 3:20 a.m. on June 20.
The Columbia Tech Center Lofts, 800 S.E. Tech Center Drive, was planned as a four-story 90-unit complex just south of Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard near 177th Avenue. The construction project has a price tag of more than $4 million, according to building permits, but because it was about 50 percent completed and not yet outfitted with all its amenities, authorities estimated the financial loss somewhere between $3 million and $3.5 million.
Investigators with the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office have not yet made a determination on the cause of the fire, but the investigation has included the use of a dog trained to detect accelerants.
