AFTER an extensive investigation spanning nearly six years, a 29-year-old Alberta man has now been charged with arson in relation to a structure fire at Burnaby Hospital.
On Monday, November 16, 2020, just before 6 a.m., Burnaby RCMP responded to a report of a fire that occurred at Burnaby Hospital in the evening hours of Sunday, November 15, 2020.
On December 17, 2020, Burnaby RCMP shared an update advising that the fire was determined to be a deliberate act of arson and a photo of a person of interest was shared in the hopes of garnering tips from the public.
On the one-year anniversary of the incident, November 15, 2021, Burnaby RCMP provided another update and shared a video of the same individual at the hospital, this time confirming that the person in the video was a suspect.
As the investigation moved forward with information received from the public, police deployed various investigative strategies in a bid to gather new evidence.
In the summer of 2023, police identified a suspect who had moved to the province of Alberta. Over the next three years, Burnaby RCMP investigators collaborated with local and interprovincial agencies including Edmonton Police Service (EPS), Alberta RCMP, and Strathcona County RCMP to advance the investigation.
On September 8, 2026, the British Columbia Prosecution Service laid a charge of “arson, disregard for human life” against 29-year-old Yu Yun Wang. Wang is currently in custody in Alberta on unrelated charges.
“The outcome of this lengthy investigation is a testament to the dedication of the many officers involved in this file over the years,” said Chief Superintendent Bill Parmar, Burnaby RCMP’s Officer in Charge. “Our investigators were determined to find answers following this incident which had a major impact on our local hospital and community, at a time when our health care system was already coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The reach of the RCMP and Canadian policing in general was on display in this file,” said Staff-Sgt. Gary Yeung, Burnaby RCMP’s Acting Investigative Services Officer. “We could not have made the investigational strides we did without the cooperation and expertise of our police partners in Alberta.”
