When Gerry O'Neil received an urgent phone call Tuesday night about another fire at his stable in Stanley Park, he was told the barn holding his horses was in flames.
"It took me nine minutes to drive from South Vancouver to the stable," said O'Neil, the owner of Stanley Park Horse Drawn Tours. "As it turns out it was close to the barn so through the smoke it looked like it was on fire, but it's OK. And the horses are fine, thank God.'
O'Neil said that ever since a fire damaged two carriages at the stable in February 2011, he's prayed to God every night that he would never receive another call like that.
But that second call came at 10: 55 p.m. June 26. Fortunately, none of O'Neil's horses or the VPD's mounted squad's horses stabled in an adjacent barn were injured in the fire. One Vancouver park board truck was destroyed and two others suffered significant damage. The property damage is estimated at about $70,000 for what is the second fire in Stanley Park in less than a week.
At a press conference Wednesday morning at the VPD's Cambie Street headquarters, Vision Vancouver park board commissioner Constance Barnes and Const. Lindsey Houghton both agreed it's unlikely the most recent incident is connected to the February 2011 fire. Barnes explained investigators believe the 2011 fire was caused by a homeless person trying to keep warm in the carriage. Houghton said investigators have evidence to show this latest fire was deliberately set but aren't releasing details.
Last Thursday at midnight, the station at the Stanley Park Miniature Railway was destroyed by a fire police have deemed "suspicious." The fire came just hours after the opening celebration for the Klahowya Village First Nations exhibit in Stanley Park, which includes the Spirit Catcher Train ride. Artists taking part in the exhibit lost more than $40,000 in supplies and art work. Two firefighters injured in that blaze were treated at hospital for minor injuries and released. Police are not saying if the two fires are connected.
At the press conference, Barnes was asked if it's possible someone has a grudge against the park board, but the commissioner said that question is impossible to answer.
Vision Vancouver park board chair Sarah Blyth said the board was working on a plan to beef up security in the park as the result of last week's fire. That plan includes increased patrols by both the VPD and the board's park rangers. Blyth and Barnes looked shaken by this latest fire in Stanley Park, described by Barnes as the jewel of the city. "I can't even begin to imagine why someone would want to do this to a park," said Blyth. "I would hope that the person who did this would recognize that it is very sad and they need to stop."
O'Neil is wondering why anyone would put horses in harm's way. "Equipment can always be replaced, but I hope this isn't someone with something against helpless animals," said O'Neil, who added he's looking into security measures for his stable.
[email protected] Twitter: sthomas10
