The vintage pickup truck 'Buttercup' owned by Wendy Power of Chilliwack was torched in a locked and fenced carport in the early hours of Wednesday (Dec. 18).
Chilliwack Fire Department officials say they were called to the rear parkade of the apartment complex on Yale Road, where vehicles were engulfed in flames at about 2:45 a.m.
"Thanks to the quick action of bystanders who promptly alerted the fire department, crews from Hall 1 and Hall 4 were able to aggressively knock down the flames, preventing further damage and eliminating the need to escalate to a first alarm structure fire," said assistant fire chief Krista Minar.
No injuries to members of the public or firefighters were reported.
Police were on-scene from about 3 a.m. on, Power said, and most of the tenants were evacuated to the front part of the building initially.
Local RCMP, with assistance from the Chilliwack Fire Department, are investigating the fire.
"Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477)."
As the manager of an apartment building on Yale Road east of Five Corners, Power said she has long been the target of abuse from disrespectful tenants and those with substance-use issues, working in the downtown core, trying to deal with the chaos of apartment rentals.
But her recent experiences are on a whole other level. Power said she has been forced to confront junkies, bullies and fire bugs regularly in her work, and she's aware of four other fires in her block in recent weeks. Her home has been targeted with human waste.
Now she is angry that her beloved 1967 F100 truck was targeted, which had been lovingly and meticulously rebuilt by local mechanics over the past 15 years, and interior recently redone, and engine painted, so it all adds insult to injury.
"I鈥檓 asking the universe to deal with this," Power said. "I鈥檇 be sick all the time if I took how I鈥檓 treated personally."
