There have been two fires, a little more than a week apart, at Chemainus Secondary School.
Both fires are suspicious and the RCMP is investigating.
The Cowichan Valley School District is taking steps to ensure the safety of the school. District 79 is offering additional counseling resources at Chemainus Secondary for any students or staff who request it. The school will also have a security guard and daytime custodian. Along with these measures, a classroom sign-in and sign-out protocol will be strictly enforced.
The school district hopes that these temporary additional precautions, coupled with the ongoing RCMP investigation will ensure the safety of everyone in our school.
On Friday of last week, a custodian noticed smoke just after 1 pm in a washroom on the lower floor of the school.
The custodian activated an alarm pull station and the school was safely evacuated.
On the afternoon of February 20th, there was also a suspicious fire, this one in a second-floor washroom.
On both days classes had to be canceled and a full day of classes was canceled on February 21st.
If you have any information about these fires, the North Cowichan RCMP Detachment would like you to contact them at 250-748-5522 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
You can also leave a tip at Cowichan Crimestoppers.
