Man arrested after arsons at North Vancouver, Vancouver Masonic halls

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A man has been arrested by police after fires were deliberately set at three Metro Vancouver Masonic halls early Tuesday morning.

The first fire was reported at about 6:45 a.m. at the Lynn Valley Lodge near Lynn Valley Rd. and Harold Rd. in North Vancouver. The blaze left extensive damage to the front of the building.

And here’s video of the Lynn Valley Masonic Lodge, courtesy Ryan Swordpic.twitter.com/Hkwxi1NDcb

— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) March 30, 2021

Just a few minutes later, a second fire was reported at the North Vancouver Masonic Centre near Lonsdale Ave. and W. 12th St.

“There are quite a few fire trucks on scene,” lawyer Hollis Luck told NEWS 1130 Tuesday morning of the fire at the Lonsdale lodge. “They are trying to put it out but the smoke is billowing — it’s higher than the 16 storey condo next to it.”

Luck described significant flames coming out of the roof of the building, adding “it’s crumbling down.”

‘Thank goodness nobody was hurt’

Dave Goddard, who speaks for the freemasons of the Grand Lodge of BC and Yukon, is grateful all the buildings were all empty.

“Although we’re meeting online, those buildings have been unoccupied. Thank goodness nobody was hurt,” he says.

“We look forward to talking to the police and finding out what the circumstances were surrounding this particular incident. That’s for sure,” he adds.

Goddard says from time to time they have received a small number of prank calls but “nothing in the last little while with regards to any threats against the freemasons of British Columbia.”

He adds he’d be surprised to hear if the man arrested had any ties to his organization.

“But we do not suspect that that’s the case.”

It’s too early to estimate how much it will cost to repair the damage, but Goddard believes all the buildings were insured.

View of the fire at 12th and Lonsdale in North Vancouver from a neighboring building. (Courtesy Justin de Genova)
We’re hearing it’s the Masonic temple.
Another fire in Lynn Valley is also apparently at a Masonic temple.
Working to confirm. pic.twitter.com/o12J8OdPvY

— Mike Lloyd ☕️ (@llikemoyd) March 30, 2021

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe effort has been set up for one of the businesses affected by the fire on Lonsdale in North Vancouver.

Organizer Ada Slivinski is raising money for Venessa Stonehouse, the owner of “Feed Me Fit,” a meal-delivery service that has already had to change its business model due to COVID-19.

“It’s been a very hard time for small businesses with COVID already, and she [Stonehouse] had to make changes in her business model. And now, nobody would expect something like this. So, if you have a few spare dollars that you’re pitching and support,” Slivinski says.

The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is $20,000.

North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries notes the fires come at an already difficult time, just days after a string of stabbings at the Lynn Valley Library that left one person dead.

“It’s been a hard few days for North Vancouver, for sure,” he said, noting the Lynn Valley fire is just up the street from where Saturday’s attack took place. “These kinds of things are straining our community, but I know that we are strong as a community and when these types of things happen what we do is we come together as a community. You can see that in the response from North Van’s emergency services, including the fire department and the police here.”

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A third fire was reported at around 7:30 a.m. at the Masonic Temple in East Vancouver near Rupert St. and E. 29th Ave.

Police later arrested a 42-year-old man they believe was responsible for the arson in Burnaby near North Fraser Way and Marine Way.

Arson charges are being recommended. The suspect was already known to police as he had been previously arrested for criminal harassment.

A video on social media has surfaced, appearing to show a man carrying a gas canister, as he walks to a van parked outside the Masonic temple on East 29th Avenue near Rupert Street. In the video, viewers can see flames near the building’s doorway before an altercation that occurs between the man and someone who appears to be a police officer.

Constable Tania Visintin has confirmed an off-duty officer happened to be in the area when he spotted a man carrying a jerrycan near Vancouver’s Masonic Temple around 7:30 a.m.

“He did a great job in speaking to this suspect. From that, he probably stopped anything further or anything more serious from happening, so he attempted to take the suspect in custody, a fight ensued and the suspect did get away,” she says.

Because charges have not been approved yet, Visintin can not confirm if the man in custody is the same person confronted by the off-duty cop.

“He did witness a man exit. The building was partially on fire. A physical fight ensued between the man and the off-duty police officer. Charges haven’t been approved. I can’t confirm the identity. I can’t say for sure that was the suspect. However, the video did capture the events just momentarily after that fire,” she explains.

Police have not shared any details about a possible motive and have not said whether they are looking for more suspects.

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call 604-717-2521 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

– With files from Denise Wong, Martin MacMahon, Hana Mae Nassar, Sonia Aslam, Marcella Bernardo, John Ackermann and Nikitha Martins