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Vancouver Sikh
school fire definitely arson: police
WSN Network
 A
Sikh school was set on fire on Thursday but shockingly the Canadian
police has confirmed that the fire was deliberately set, and are
appealing to the public for assistance in locating a possible
witness.
The fire spread
quickly and destroyed the
Khalsa
School
near the intersection of Fraser Street and 45th Avenue in East
Vancouver. There were no injuries.
A staff member
entered the school Thursday morning and called 911 when she smelled
smoke. As she made the call, a second woman ran up to the school,
pulled the fire alarm and yelled at the staff member to get out,
Vancouver
police Const. Jana McGuinness said in news release Friday.
"Arson
investigators are appealing for the woman who pulled the fire alarm
to contact them as she may have important information relating to
the investigation," the release said.
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Holy scripture recovered
The school's
little gurdwara was also destroyed, and many feared the Sikh
holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, had been destroyed, but after
the flames were extinguished, firefighters entered the charred
buildings, recovered the scriptures, brought it out covered in a
white cloth and turned it over to a school official. The Granth
Sahib was undamaged, and members of the gurdwara attributed it
to the will of the Akal Purakh.
A Sikh
granthi dressed in white robes and a white turban spread a large
white sheet on which which the scripture was placed, and then
wrapped in the sheet and carried by the priest on his head while
the sangat followed behind. |
Firefighters
arrived minutes after the alarm was sounded to find the blaze
already raging through the main building and several portable
classrooms, sending a massive plume of smoke over the neighbourhood.
The fire was
largely under control within an hour, but only one of about half a
dozen portables survived the blaze.
Deputy Fire
Chief Tim Armstrong said Thursday the cause of the fire appeared
suspicious because it rapidly engulfed one building and two
portables at virtually the same time.
Former B.C.
premier Ujjal Dosanjh — now MP for Vancouver South — came over from
his constituency office a few blocks from the school.
"This is a huge
setback for people who send their children to the school," Dosanjh
said. "I understand arson is suspected and if that's the case, I
hope the police catch the culprits."
The Khalsa
School is run by the non-profit Satnam Education Society. Ripudaman
Singh Malik, who was instrumental in establishing the school in
1986, is chairman of the society's board.
Five years ago,
several portables at the school were damaged by a fire that was
determined not to be a case of arson. Anyone with information is
asked to contact the Vancouver Police arson squad at 604-717-2541 or
Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
5
August 2009
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