Early morning Kelowna mail truck fire deemed suspicious

UPDATE: 10 a.m.

An early morning truck fire at Kelowna's Canada Post sorting centre has been deemed suspicious.

The Kelowna Fire Department responded to the fire on the north side of the Baillie Avenue building just before 2 a.m. Saturday. 

"One of their trucks in the loading docks was ablaze when we got there," said Kelowna Fire Department Platoon Captain Tim Light. "The crews knocked it down pretty quick.

"There was no extension [into the building], but there was some smoke in the building that we had to ventilate."

Light said the they are considering the fire to be "suspicious in nature," and the RCMP are currently investigating. 

"Generally, a vehicle that's parked in a loading dock earlier on in the day or evening won't generally self ignite," Light said. 

An RCMP officer was on scene Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. taking photos of the burned out shell of the truck's cab.

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UPDATE: 8:40 a.m.

The destroyed cab of a truck and three boarded up windows are all that remain from an early morning fire at the Canada Post sorting centre on Baillie Avenue.

An RCMP officer was on scene Saturday morning, taking photos of the destroyed truck on the north side of the building.

Residents near the North End facility awoke to several "massive blasts" at about 2 a.m. The large truck fire scorched the side of the Canada Post building, shattering three of the building's windows. 

It's unclear what caused the fire, but the RCMP is currently investigating. 

Castanet has reached out to the Kelowna Fire Department for more information. 

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ORIGINAL: 6:15 a.m.

Large explosions were reported overnight in Kelowna's North End.

Reader submitted photos show a fire at the loading docks of the Canada Post sorting centre on Baillie Avenue.

Residents started reporting what were described as "massive blasts" about 2 a.m. in the industrial area at the base of Knox Mountain.

Firefighters and first responders were seen at the site, and photos show a truck engulfed in flames.

The fire and explosions were on the north side of the building, at the loading ramp.

Multiple fire and police units were on scene, says Chad Vale.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, and the Kelowna Fire Department has yet to issue a statement.

Castanet will update this story as more information becomes available.