Three buildings were completely destroyed by suspicious fires in the early morning hours of Feb. 3.
At approximately 3am emergency crews received a call regarding a structure fire at an abandoned shed on Highway 7 near Woolwich-Guelph Townline.
Half an hour later, a second fire was spotted at an abandoned home and barn on Township Road 3.
That property is less than 3km from the location of the earlier fire on Highway 7.
Highway 7 fire
When the fire department arrived at the first fire, on Highway 7, they found a single-storey shed fully engulfed in flames, explained Guelph Fire Department deputy chief Dave Elloway in a press release.
Pumpers and tankers from Guelph and Woolwich Township’s Maryhill station were on the scene.
Township Road 3 blaze
When crews arrived at the second scene just before 3:30am they saw a large barn engulfed in flames.
“A further check of the property revealed the stone house on the property also to be on fire,” Elloway said.
There were three Guelph pumper and tanker trucks on scene as well as an aerial truck. Pumpers from Maryhill and Conestoga were also on the scene.
“Guelph Fire crews remain on scene at this fire monitoring the barn area which is expected to continue to burn for some time,” Elloway said.
“The crews will remain to ensure that the fire does not spread beyond the involved structure.”
All structures were destroyed, there is no damage estimate at this time and there were no injuries reported.
“Both of these fires are suspicious in nature due to the timing and proximity of the two incidents,” Elloway said.
Over the past five months there have been more than 10 suspicious fires in Guelph-Eramosa and neighboring municipalities.
The Guelph Fire Department is investigating the fires – as are the Wellington County OPP, the West Region OPP Forensics Identification Services Unit and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office.
Anyone with information about the fires can call the 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.
