MOUNT FOREST – Four fires, including a recent vehicle fire in Mount Forest, have the Wellington OPP crime unit investigating.
At around 5pm on June 7, Wellington OPP and Wellington North Fire Services (WNFS) responded to a field off Sligo Road East where responders found an abandoned box truck ablaze.
The non-functioning truck has been there for quite some time, according to WNFS deputy chief Callise Loos.
The fire is considered suspicious, Wellington OPP spokesperson Jacob Unger told the Advertiser.
That latest fire follows three others in the early morning hours of June 4, including one only recently reported to police.
In the incidents a car and shed were set on fire at the same Cork Street residence around 3:18am, half-an-hour after a Wellington Produce Packaging storage building on Sligo Road was reported ablaze around 2:48am.
A third fire was also discovered in Mount Forest in the early morning hours on the same day, the Advertiser has since learned via a June 8 press release.
“Between 3 and 4am, a yard waste bag was discovered on fire at a residence on Colcleugh Avenue,” the release states, adding the homeowner extinguished the fire.
In response to a question from the Advertiser about the timing of the release, Wellington OPP spokesperson Joshua Cunningham said the incident wasn’t immediately reported.
“We hope that anyone else in the area who has experienced something similar, no matter how small, will reach out to investigators,” Cunningham wrote.
“Fires not only put citizens at risk of serious injury or death, they also put our first responders in harm’s way,” he added.
Officials consider all four fires to be suspicious and are investigating.
However, Unger said it’s too early to say whether the June 7 vehicle fire is related to the June 4 incidents.
Wellington OPP’s crime unit is investigating and seeking information.
The OPP can be contacted at 1-888-310-1122.
Anyone with information wanting to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online at www.csgw.tips.
