An Alberta man has been charged with arson nearly six years after a deliberately set fire damaged Burnaby Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.Burnaby RCMP said 29-year-old Yu Yun Wang has been charged with arson with disregard for human life following an investigation that eventually stretched from British Columbia into Alberta.Police were called to Burnaby Hospital shortly before 6 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2020, after a fire broke out at the facility the previous evening.Investigators determined the blaze had been deliberately set and in December 2020 released a photograph of a person of interest while asking the public for information.One year after the fire, police released video showing the same person at the hospital and confirmed the individual was considered a suspect.RCMP said information received from the public helped investigators move the case forward, with police using a number of investigative techniques to gather additional evidence.By the summer of 2023, investigators had identified a suspect who had moved to Alberta.Burnaby RCMP then worked with the Edmonton Police Service, Alberta RCMP and Strathcona County RCMP over the next three years as investigators continued building the case.The BC Prosecution Service approved a charge of arson with disregard for human life against Wang on Sept. 8.Wang is currently being held in Alberta on unrelated charges, according to police.“The outcome of this lengthy investigation is a testament to the dedication of the many officers involved in this file over the years,” said Burnaby RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Parmar.“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.”Staff Sgt. Gary Yeung, Burnaby RCMP’s acting investigative services officer, credited cooperation between police agencies in BC and Alberta with advancing the case.“The reach of the RCMP and Canadian policing in general was on display in this file,” said Yeung.“We could not have made the investigational strides we did without the cooperation and expertise of our police partners in Alberta.”
