Merritt firefighters responded to another fire at the corner of Coldwater Avenue and May Street half an hour after the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, the second suspicious fire at the property in less than a month.

This time, a shed went up in flames at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, said Merritt Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson. Nineteen firefighters and three engines responded to the blaze, he added.

“We’re working with the fire department,” explained RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore. “There had been some fresh snow the night of, and there were no indications of footprints or anything. But there’s no electricity or anything [to the structure] so that makes it suspicious.”

There were fireworks in the area, added Dunsmore, so investigators haven’t ruled out the possibility fireworks had been shot into the shed, sparking the blaze.

“We are doing neighbourhood inquiries, looking for anyone who may have video surveillance, or have seen somebody,” said Dunsmore. “It doesn’t mean that somebody couldn’t have thrown something — or what-have-you — into the building, we’re just looking for more information.”

Resident Brynn Hilland, who lives on Clapperton Avenue near the property in question, said she drove past the shed on her way home from a New Year’s function just after midnight and didn’t see anyone in the area.

After she got home, she noticed flames stretching up above her fence, and firefighters were at the scene shortly afterwards.

“I just went out back to let my dogs out and I could see it from my backyard,” said Hilland.

In the early hours of Dec. 10, Merritt firefighters responded to a structural fire at the same property on the corner of Coldwater Avenue and May Street. That fire destroyed the home, and the investigation was turned over the RCMP after it was deemed suspicious.

The property was unoccupied at the time of both fires.

Police still don’t have a suspect in the initial fire, which is being treated as a possible arson explained Dunsmore.