Investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office investigate the scene at 561 King Street, Tuesday afternoon. Bullet News photo by Annie Silvester.
JOHN ROBBINS/Bullet News
WELLAND – It looks like police and firefighters have a serial firebug on their hands after emergency crews scramble to extinguish two more suspicious fires in Welland, Monday night.
That brings to six the number of suspicious fires in just 25 hours, Niagara Regional Police say.
The latest two fires happened about half an hour apart and just across the street from each other.
Around 8:35 p.m., firefighters were called to the area 570 King St. Upon arrival, a dumpster at the rear of that address was found fully engulfed in flames.
The fire was quickly extinguished, limiting property damage to the dumpster.
Then at 9:08 p.m., were alerted to a structure fire across from their location at 561 King Street.
The building at 561 King Street is a two-story, residential dwelling that had been unoccupied for some time.
Police say the quick response of firefighters resulted in the fire limited to the interior of the structure, leaving the remainder of the building intact.
Four other fires are under investigation. Police say they believe all of the incidents are likely connected:
- At 7:29 p.m. Sunday firefighters responded to a fire in a dumpster at the rear of Plymouth Street School, located at 111 First Ave.
- At 8:34 p.m. Sunday firefighters were dispatched to Rose City Plaza, located at 815 Ontario Rd., where they again discovered a fire fire in a dumpster at the rear of building.
- At 9:59 p.m. Sunday firefighters responded to a dumpster fire at Matthew Elementary School, located at 315 Southworth St.
- On Monday at 5:15 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to extinguish a dumpster fire at a vacant building located at 51 Niagara St.
The incidents are being investigated by the NRP’s Welland detective services branch. The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has also been called in to assist in the investigation.
Investigators are seeking the assistance of anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the areas to call ext 905-688-4111, ext 3354.
Information on crimes can be submitted anonymously using Crime Stoppers of Niagara.
To leave an anonymous tip, please contact Crime Stoppers via: Telephone: 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS)Online: www.niagaratips.com Text: 274637 (CRIMES), keyword ‘Niagara,’ then your tip.
Crime Stoppers guarantees that you will remain anonymous through any of the methods offered to provide tips.
You may also be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000 if the information leads to an arrest.
