The Merritt Fire Rescue Department extinguished four fires in garbage bins that sparked around town late Friday night (April 22).

Firefighters responded to the first fire at 10:52 p.m. at Central Elementary School, and the others were subsequently discovered burning in bins outside neighbouring Merritt Secondary School, Coopers Foods and Diamond Vale Elementary School.

Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson said he thinks the fires broke out at about the same time.

“It’s our belief that while we were at one incident, there was another,” Tomkinson said.

He said the RCMP patrolled the area, but didn’t find a suspect.

Tomkinson told the Herald that this isn’t a victimless crime given the damage done to the bins and the cost of using up fire department resources.

The fires also posed a potential threat to the buildings that they were near.

“There’s always a risk of a fire extending to a building,” Tomkinson said of this type of incident.

“The other thing is you never know what is in the dumpsters. You could have compressed gas cylinders or anything like that, which will obviously pose an even greater risk to firefighters,” he said.

The fires were deemed suspicious and anyone with any information is asked to contact the Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore told the Herald police are looking for the person or persons responsible for the fires and the culprit(s) could face charges of arson.

Firefighters were kept busy putting out the flames for a couple of hours, returning to the fire hall by about 1:30 a.m. that night.