Vancouver police investigate suspected arson at volunteer's ABC campaign signs

Vancouver police are investigating suspected arson that damaged ABC Vancouver campaign signs stacked at a volunteer's home between Monday evening, October 5, and early Tuesday morning, October 6.

The volunteer discovered the damage the following morning. Photographs show a large campaign sign promoting Ken Sim and the ABC party with a burned opening along its lower edge, blackened material surrounding the hole, and exposed wood behind. The damaged sign was one of many stacked against the exterior wall of the residential property.

Vancouver Police Department officers interviewed the volunteer and forensic identification officers processed evidence at the scene. Police seized the damaged sign to conduct fingerprinting. The investigation remains ongoing, and officers are seeking additional security video footage from the area, where the volunteer has a surveillance camera.

The volunteer, whose name is being withheld for personal safety reasons, said the incident has "got me really rattled." Over 25 years of working from home to prepare and install political party campaign signs, the volunteer has encountered signs being defaced, knocked down, or damaged, along with occasional hostile comments. But arson was a new threat.

The volunteer feared flames could have reached a garage containing flammable materials, tools, and family belongings, and worried about fire spreading through a hedge between the garage and house toward elderly neighbours.

"I can go around and fix them or replace them," the volunteer said. "But to light them on fire, I just can't imagine that people think this is a good idea or that they want to support people who think this is a good idea."

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Vancouver Police.