July 15,1984 Newsroom 985-2131 Price 25¢

Classified 986-6222 Circulation 986-1337

Ce ee es . ; NEWS photo Sruart Devin
WEST. VANCOUVER: firefighters moved quickly Thursday but couldn't prevent fire

from gutting the service bays of Wetmore Motors on Marine Drive. See accompanying
article for details.

Car dealership,
stores damaged

A BROKEN light bulb and an arsonist are being
blamed for fires that struck in West and North
Vancouver a little more than 12 hours apart

Thursday and Friday.

The West Vancouver fire
struck Wetmore Motors at
22nd and Marine Drive in
West Vancouver just before
noon Thursday, causing ex-
tensive damage to the shop
area of the dealership and
destroying three cars.

According to fire depart-
ment investigators, (wo men
were lowering a_ gasoline
tank from a vehicle in for
repairs when it tipped and
fell to the floor. At the same
time a mechanic’s trouble
light fell and shattered, with
the resulting electrical spark
igniting the gas fumes.

Wetmore mechanics at-
tempted to douse the flames
with extinguishers but were
unsuccessful. One mechanic
was treated at the scene for
burns he received to his
lower leg

Firemen were on the scene
quickly but the shop area
was ‘‘pretty well gutted’’
and the building suffered ex
tensive smoke damage, ac-
cording to Chief Art Ridley
No estimate of the
value of the damage was
immediately available

Mechanics

dollar

were able ote

RK HAMILTO

move two cars out of the
service bays, but three others
were damaged. Wetmore
Motors employees were also
able to move cars out of the
showroom and away from
the building.

In the second incident,
RCMP have been called in
to investigate a fire set at the
rear of a Jiffy Mart conve-
mience store at 1338 Marine
Drive in North Vancouver.
The fire all but destroyed the
store and an adjoining pet
food store.

According to Chief Leo
lus of the North Van District
fire department, fires were
started in three separate gar-
bage containers at the rear
of the store and in wooden
pallets placed against § the
rear door of the convemience
store

The rear walis of both
stores were burning when
firemen arrived and the fire
had spread into the roof area
of the stores

To press time there was no
af

exvtimate damage

avs atlable

Suspect held
in shooting

A I2OAEFAR-OLD Bacaabs
man arrested = briday
morning tn connection with
the fatal shooting of Brinks
guard Robert Persowich at
Park Royal shopping centre
June 29

was

has nol
was arrested

The man, who
been identified.

at 1010 am Friday in Bur
neaby by members of the
West Vancouver Police, with
the assistance of members of
a Lower Mainiand wide
jotot policing force.

To deadline for todays
edition of the News, the man
had not been charged and
investigation was continuing

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