Who or what is responsible for a string of suspicious fires in October in Airdrie is still under investigation, however, RCMP is treating them as arson.
“Basically, fire investigators on scene at each one have told us they believe it is arson,” RCMP Media Liaison Constable Jason Curtis said. “The very first one (on Oct. 1) was a book that was set on fire in a parking lot. That’s suspicious. There’s no normal explanation for a why that item should be on fire in a parking lot.
“They’re all definitely suspicious in nature. Our concern is that we’re seeing incidences of larger amounts of property being destroyed and with any uncontrolled fire there’s always a danger of injury or death or greater property damage.”
Crews from the Airdrie Fire Department (AFD) received a call at 7:33 p.m. Oct. 7, responding to an alarm at the Chinook Winds Waterpark.
Upon arrival, Rabel said firefighters found smoke coming from the washroom and concession stand building. The fire was located in a garbage can, which crews quickly extinguished.
A wall and part of the ceiling in the building were damaged by the blaze.
Three additional fires were reported to the AFD in the early hours of Oct. 8, the first two at 4:54 a.m. in the area of the 100 block of Mackenzie Way S.W.
Firefighters then responded to the Sobey’s grocery store on Eighth Street after a staff member noticed a fire in a stand holding newspapers outside the store.
“Our teams just happened to be out dealing with these other issues and they kept bouncing (from fire to fire),” Rabel said. “An employee had already extinguished it with an extinguisher from the store.”
Additional suspicious fires took place on rural property outside of Airdrie on Oct. 10 when a barn on Township Road 264 and an unoccupied RV on Symons Valley Road were both set on fire.
Crews from the Rocky View County Fire Services (RVCFS) responded to these fires as well as to incidences on Oct. 11 when straw bales were set on fire at Range Road 292 and Township Road 264.
A number of homes under construction in Ravenswood in Airdrie were set afire on Oct. 12. The AFD responded at 3:28 a.m., according to Rabel.
“A passerby saw smoke and flames and on arrival our crews found heavy smoke from one of the units in the middle and from both floors,” Rabel said. “(It was a total loss) of the one unit itself. The fire walls that are engineered into those types of complexes definitely limited the spread of the fire.”
The fire was large enough that a second alarm was raised and crews from responded to the scene at 2400 Ravenswood View S.E. A total of 12 firefighters and five apparatus were eventually able to get the fire out with crews staying into the early morning to ensure all hot spots were extinguished.
A second fire occurred on Oct. 12 at a rural property in Balzac on Township Road 264. An unoccupied shed was destroyed in that blaze.
Finally, on Oct. 13, more straw bales were set alight on Highway 566.
Crews from the RVCFS responded to these last two blazes.
Curtis was not able to say if the same individual was responsible for all nine fires.
“I don’t know if I could speculate as to that,” he said. “But I do believe it would be more than a coincidence that we’ve experienced this many fires in such short a time.”
Rabel said the AFD is concerned about the rash of fires as well.
“It’s putting individuals in the community and, as importantly, our firefighters at risk and first responders who might have to respond,” he said. “That’s always a concern when we see these types of incidences occur.”
No damage estimates are available for any of these blazes and the causes remain under investigation. There were no injuries to report from any of the scenes.
Curtis said investigators would like to hear from anyone who has any information about the cause of any of these fires. Information can by reported by calling the Airdrie RCMP Detachment at (403) 945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at tipsubmit.com
