Victoria police are investigating suspicious fires that broke out in two separate dumpsters just 30 minutes apart Sunday night.
Firefighters were first called to a metal dumpster near a building at 732 Princess Avenue at 11:23 p.m. They quickly doused the blaze before it damaged the building, though the dumpster itself sustained heat damage.
A little more than half an hour later, firefighters received a report of another garbage bin fire in Chancery Lane behind the Yates Street Parkade.
Crews again extinguished the blaze quickly, but because the bin was plastic it was melted by flames and heat, spilling garbage out onto the walkway.
It also melted irrigation pipes attached to an adjacent building at 535 Yates Street.
Firefighters estimate the damage in both fires at a cost of around $1,000.
The cause remains under investigation, but Victoria police have determined the fires appear suspicious. An investigation is ongoing.
The suspicious fires come a week after firefighters dealt with a similar string of fires in Saanich.
Crews were called to a dumpster fire behind Save-On-Foods on Blanshard Street the night of Saturday, Feb. 23. Shorrtly after, a bin was set on fire across the street.
Investigators aren't saying whether they believe the fires in Victoria and Saanich are linked.
