As evening was setting in on July 20, yet another suspicious fire was discovered, this one in the middle of Rockwood.
It was the fourth suspicious blaze in Wellington County that day.
“We got called to a structure fire just on Main Street and responded, found that it was kind of like a pool shed structure so it’s detached from the residence and it was fully engulfed when we arrived,” said Guelph-Eramosa deputy fire chief Jim Petrik on July 21.
“And we were able to extinguish it relatively quickly and there was no extension to any other buildings.”
The call came in at around 8:12pm and was cleared by about 11pm.
Petrik said it isn’t clear at this time whether the detached shed was in use.
An OPP press release states, “A witness reports seeing two males break into the gate at the property and approximately 20 minutes later the witness observed flames and called the fire department.”
The fire is being treated as suspicious.
“Once we got it extinguished we just turned it over to the OPP, just in light of everything else going on … and OFM (Office of the Fire Marshall) was going to attend,” Petrik said.
“We didn’t do any of our primary investigation because they were just going to take it over anyways.”
However, the fire is not necessarily connected to the other suspicious fires in the area over the past year.
“They’re just trying to determine whether there might be a connection,” Petrik said. “It’s not assumed that there is at this point but … as a precaution and in light of all the other events yesterday, they’re just looking at it as part of the investigation.”
OPP, Guelph-Eramosa Fire Department and the Ontario Fire Marshal Office are currently investigating.
Petrik also said that there is no damage estimate yet because the shed contents are still unknown.
About 25 firefighters from Puslinch and Rockwood stations attended the scene and there were no injuries reported.
“We were able to get it under control quite quickly and there was no further damage, which is really the kind of main thing,” said Petrik.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the two males in the area to call Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online at www.csgw.tips. Tip providers may be eligible for a reward from Crime Stoppers of up to $2,000.
Other July 20 fires
In the morning of July 20 firefighters from Erin, Rockwood and Centre Wellington battled three separate blazes: on Sideroad 27 in Erin, Sideroad 15 in Guelph-Eramosa and 3rd Line in Guelph-Eramosa.
All three are considered suspicious.
Police are asking anyone with information about the fires to contact the Wellington County OPP or Crime Stoppers.
For a list of suspicious fires in the county since September, see the map below. Click on the fire icons for a link to the original articles.
