'Homeowners need to be vigilant': Nanaimo RCMP investigating 3 suspicious fires

Firefighters took a picture of someone walking away from the scene of one of the fires. (RCMP)

Mounties are asking the public to help identify a person of interest after three suspicious fires were set in Nanaimo, B.C.

All three fires were set in the past 10 days in the Seventh Street area, according to police.

The Nanaimo RCMP released an image Wednesday of someone they believe is connected to two of the fires that were started on the grounds of John Barsby High School on the morning of April 3.

Firefighters responded to a garden shed fire on the school grounds just after 7 a.m.

Police say someone was seen leaving the area just as the fire began to smoulder. A person matching the witness description was later seen riding a scooter along a foot patch connected to Seventh Street.

Around 10 a.m. the same day, firefighters and police were called to a fire under a pedestrian bridge just metres from the shed fire.

Investigators determined the fire was suspicious, with wood being bundled under the bridge and then set alight, according to police.

Firefighters took a picture of someone walking away from the fire scene and police say the photo matches the earlier description.

The third fire was reported overnight Friday, when a car seat cover and candle were taken from the front porch of a home in the 700-block of Stirling Avenue.

Police say the items were placed on the back porch of a nearby home and the seat cover was set on fire. The seat cover melted before the fire could spread further, according to police.

"While the third fire cannot be connected to the first two fires, investigators recognized that the location of the fire is approximately a six-minute walk from the other locations," the Nanaimo RCMP said in a statement.

"All three of these fires are troubling because it appears that they were all intentionally set and occurred within a short distance of each other," said Const. Gary O'Brien. "Homeowners need to be vigilant and report any suspicious fires or persons to the police."

Police are looking for a white man with long, brown hair and a slim build. He was wearing a blue ski jacket and track pants with a white stripe along the side. The man was seen with a white scooter, police said.

Anyone with information on the fires or the person in the photo is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.