Coquitlam man escapes suspected arson through side window

A suspiciousfire in Coquitlam, B.C., forced a man and his dog to escape theirburning homethrough the side windowearly Friday morning.

The fire began sometime after 2 a.m. in the 800-block of Robinson Street.

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AssistantCoquitlamFireChief Stu Aspinall said his crews were met with significant flames when they arrived.

"There was substantial fire on both the front and the back of the house," said Aspinall. "[The flames were]10 [to]15 feet in the air and the firehad accessedinto the attic."

Aspinall said the fire was reported by the resident, who found himself trapped inside the burning house.

"He called it in while he was inside the structure. He told ourdispatcher that he couldn't get out conventionally, so the dispatcher advised him to go out the window."

Aspinall said it's odd that the front and rear doors would have been engulfed in flames, and that the fireappears to be very suspicious.

He couldn't immediately say if fuelwas used to start the fire, adding that investigators with CoquitlamFire and Rescue as well as Coquitlam RCMP would determine the exact cause.