The massive fire that gutted several units of the 99 Begin St. condominium complex and left more than 100 residents homeless was started by a contractor working on the building's roof.
That's according to Coquitlam Fire Chief Tony Delmonico, who told The Tri-City News Thursday that while the official investigators' report into the cause of the blaze would not be released for at least another three weeks, he could confirm preliminary suspicions about the fire's cause were correct.
"The indication we have at this point through our interview process and our investigation shows that it was construction-related and it appears to be the roofing contractor," he said.
Delmonico stressed that while the Coquitlam RCMP are assisting in the interviewing and investigation process, there is no criminal investigation related to the fire.
"At this point it'd be classified as accidental," Delmonico said.
The total cost of the fire, smoke and water damages from the Aug. 23 fire are still being tallied but are known to be in the millions.
ServiceMaster, the company in charge of assessing and restoring the damages, has begun some preliminary drywall demolition work to access the building's most water-damaged areas such as the main stairwell as well as shoring up the most damaged area of the roof where the fire began, Delmonico said.
ServiceMaster did not return a call from The News before press time Thursday.
There is yet no timeline for when residents may be able to return to their suites in the building.
