A fire was set early in the morning of Thursday Aug. 17 to one of the dug outs of the Patty Hutcheon Field. The Prince Rupert Fire Department was called to the scene where the conducted an on-site investigation, eventually determining that the fire was suspicious. The RCMP also attended the investigation and the matter is now their file.
The field’s dugouts, which are located between the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre and Prince Rupert Middle School, is used for community softball and slo-pitch games. The city has expressed disappointment that someone would decide to destroy public infrastructure.
“That infrastructure is there for people to use so the people that they’re hurting are their fellow citizens,” said Veronika Stewart, Communications Manager for the city of Prince Rupert. “So we just really encourage people to respect public infrastructure and recreation facilities that all the citizens benefit from.”
Stewart said while the bench in the dugout was partially destroyed, they were still considered safe for use as shelter as they are made out of concrete. According to an official statement on the city’s website, it will not be able to address the repairs until next week, “due to ongoing capital and emergency infrastructure project.”
Anyone in the community with information about how the fire was set is encouraged to contact the RCMP.