Police investigating ‘suspicious’ fire that left family dead in Nanaimo, B.C.

NANAIMO, B.C. — A woman, man and their seven-year-old daughter are dead in what police say is a suspicious fire at a home in Nanaimo, B.C.

RCMP Cpl. Jon Stewart says it’s unclear what sparked the fire Tuesday afternoon, but when fire crews arrived the home was in flames.

Three bodies were pulled from the house and Stewart says officers with the RCMP’s serious crime unit are following up with the coroner to determine what caused the deaths.

He says a passerby spotted flames and tried to alert the residents by screaming and banging on the home.

The victims have not been identified, but Stewart says the man and woman were both in their mid-40s and the family lived in the home.

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He says there’s no indication that the case involves anything more than a fire, but any time the origin of a fire is unknown, investigators treat it as being suspicious.

“All our options are on the table. We’re still investigating as we would any serious event like this,” Stewart said during a news conference.

“An investigation like this does take time because we try take it slow and do it as methodically as possible.”

Fire crews and police remained at the scene Wednesday morning, gathering evidence in the case.

The Canadian Press