Arsonist Caught Trying To Burn Down $20 Million Abandoned Vancouver Mansion

A Drone Tour of A $20 Million Abandoned Mansion In Vancouver

A few weeks ago we pointed out a little known video of a drone touring an abandoned mansion in Vancouver’s schmancy Point Grey neighbourhood. Nice place, but in a total state of dilapidation from years of vacancy. This week the Vancouver fire department caught a man trying to burn down the $19.8 million mansion in the middle of the afternoon – totally not suspicious.

Arsonist Knew What They Were Doing

The fire department responded to a fire at the home at 1784 Drummond Dr, and found 38-year-old Johnathan Lewis Durocher running out of the home. Arson investigators believe that the fire was intentionally set, since holes were punctured in the wall. In case you didn’t know (I didn’t), holes are punctured in the walls of homes by arsonists to ensure the flames engulf the home more quickly. The suspect has been charged, and has his charges pending before the court.

About The Home

We previously wrote about the home when we came across a drone tour by Corby Fieldwalker Studios, highlighting the state of disrepair. The home was last listed for sale a few weeks ago at $19.8 million, but stagnated on the market. It was purchased by the current owners last year for $17.55 million. As pricey as that seems, the assessed value of the property is $17,686,000 – which means it was a total deal..ish.

Empty Home Tax

One thing Vancouver police are going to investigate is if the vacant homeowner tax had anything to do with it. At this time, they believe it’s suspicious, but didn’t want to speculate. They currently have no reason to believe the person was acting on financial motive, but the new vacant homeowner tax works out to roughly $176,860 per year. Other potential motives brought up by the media at the press conference were: activism, squatters, or mental illness.

Not a lot is known about the motive at this point, so you’ll have to stay tuned to find out more.

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