Fire investigators looking into a late-night Canada Day blaze in White Rock have noted some "suspicious pieces" to the puzzle.
But the city's fire chief stopped short of concluding that the flames snuffed out at a Goggs Avenue house July 1 were intentionally lit.
"We've ruled out a number of pieces, but we don't have it down to an exact cause," Chief Phil Lemire said Tuesday (July 2).
"We have a couple possibilities we're looking at."
Fire crews were called to the 15400-block of Goggs Avenue around 10:30 p.m. July 1, after neighbours spotted trouble in the recently vacated building.
They arrived to find the fire burning in a cluttered room on the ground level of the two-storey house.
"It was quite full of material," Lemire said, noting the mess contributed to the danger firefighters faced at the scene.
"The extreme amount of materials in the house, in that room in particular, made it difficult for the crews to maneuver. They were basically in a blackout condition in a room full of stuff."
The fire damage was confined to the one room, however, the entire house suffered smoke damage, Lemire said.
The house had apparently been unoccupied for about a week prior to the blaze, and police say its residents had recently been evicted.
Results of the fire investigation were not available by Peace Arch News' press deadline.