Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue says a suspicious fire in downtown Trail early this morning was the third fire they have responded to in the last 72 hours, one of which was fatal.
Nine firefighters answered an alarm at the Community Inclusion Centre at 1458 Bay Avenue just before 1 a.m.
They arrived to discover a fire in the kitchen at the building’s rear. They had it under control within 40 minutes and remained on the scene to ensure the safety of the building and surrounding businesses. Damage was contained to the single room and is estimated at upwards of $40,000.
Chief Dan Derby said the incident is considered suspicious and a suspect has been identified. They ask anyone who noticed anything or anyone suspicious leading up to the fire, or who may have relevant video footage, to contact RCMP.
He said the building suffered heavy smoke damage and the kitchen will probably need to be rebuilt, but it depends on the assessment of insurance and restoration companies.
The Community Inclusion Centre is operated by Career Development Services and the Trail Association for Community Living. It offers skills development, recreation, employment services, and support groups.
Nancy Gurr, executive director of the Trail Association for Community Living, said those services will be moved into different buildings for the time being. Employment services will be across the street at the WorkBC office while the life skills program and other group activities will be moved to facilities in East Trail and Riverside Avenue.
“Hopefully we can get everything done in a timely fashion,” she said.
Derby said the overnight fire response comes amid an “unprecedented” start to the year, which has seen nearly 200 calls for service, almost twice as many as during the same period of 2025. Most of the increase has been in response to the toxic drug crisis, but Derby said this morning’s fire was the third in the last 72 hours, one of which claimed a life at the La Nina shelter.
Derby said on Saturday, crews arrived at the shelter to find a man with severe burns to over 80 per cent of his body. He was taken to hospital, where he died, despite the efforts of shelter staff, first responders, and medical professionals. Derby said they know exactly what happened, but he preferred not to share the details.
“I express our condolences to the friends and family [of the victim] and staff at the shelter,” Derby said. “Just really tragic circumstances here.”
The shelter itself wasn’t damaged.
In a third incident, crews responded to a fire in an apartment building in Annable. Damage was minor, but Derby said it was believed to have been caused by drug-related activity.
Derby said the recent call volumes reflect the “growing pressures” facing the community and the critical role of first responders.
He said his members attend the “majority” of first-responder calls and over the past few weeks, they have provided life-saving interventions “multiple times a day.” In one instance, they responded to the same person three times in a single day.
Derby said by this time last year, toxic drug use had resulted in about 10 calls, whereas it already accounted for nearly 100 calls this year.
“So it’s a crisis in our community,” he said. “Police, ambulance, fire, we’re all trying to do our part to respond in these really challenging circumstances.”
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