Four arrests linked to arson fires
|
|
|
|
Maple Ridge fire chief Dane Spence on Kimola Drive, where two houses were destroyed by fire early Tuesday.
RCMP arrested two men and two women last week in connection to a recent spate of arson fires in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The arrests were made last Wednesday and Thursday, three of them at the Leisure Centre. The fourth occurred in another part of Maple Ridge.
The men are 35 and 24 years old, according to police. One is from Maple Ridge, the other from Pitt Meadows. The women are 36 and 24 years old. One is from Maple Ridge, the other from Pitt Meadows.
The arson investigation began after a deliberately set fire on March 4, 2008. In total, RCMP and fire departments from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows were investigating about 10 arson fires, the most recent of which occurred in two homes under construction on Kimola Drive on March 12.
RCMP Cpl. Ryan Schlecker said the arrests are linked to other fires in addition to the ones on Kimola Dr. “These matters were in Maple Ridge and the GIS unit is looking into other incidents that have occurred in other jurisdictions.”
Schlecker did not specify on what grounds the four individuals were arrested. “During the course of the investigation, evidence collected identified suspects, which led to the subsequent arrests.”
The men and women arrested have not been charged, but could appear in court Wednesday.
While the arrests were made last Wednesday, the information was not released to the public until Tuesday because “investigators were not in a position to release information at the time.”
Maple Ridge fire chief Dane Spence said he was not involved with the investigation. “Our job from the fire department is to deal with the incident and the fire itself. We investigate the cause and origin of the fire. The police investigate the human element,” he said.
“Although we can prove that a particular fire may be set, the difficult part is often tying a person to that, and the police look like they’ve worked very hard on that because arson is a very difficult crime to solve.”
Besides the fires on Kimola Dr., another fire occurred at 24038 Dewdney Trunk Road 4:20 a.m. that same morning. Two days before, on March 10, a boat was discovered on fire at Grant Narrows Regional Park. On March 4 and 5, firefighters responded to three calls of a recreational vehicle, camper and homemade trailer on fire. A vacant home at 10630 – 248th St. was destroyed by fire on Feb. 18.
Most read across BC
-
Martial arts saves boy from harm
Burnaby NewsLeader •
Apr-28-2008
- RONA big box store to close in August Richmond Review • Apr-30-2008
- Layoffs loom at Coe Newnes Salmon Arm Observer • Apr-30-2008
- Hatzic student was 'well-loved' Mission City Record • Apr-28-2008
- Kitimat man jailed over tax returns Kitimat Northern Sentinel • May-02-2008
- Called 911-woman later found dead Abbotsford News • Apr-24-2008
- 17-year-old killed in Mission Mission City Record • Apr-25-2008
- Man killed in Saturday night crash Langley Times • Apr-21-2008
- Surrey teens told T-shirts a no-go at school Surrey North Delta Leader • Apr-18-2008
-
Logging truck plows into waiting traffic
Chilliwack Progress •
Apr-30-2008
- Serious crash North Island Gazette • May-01-2008
-
Fire does $1 million damage
Abbotsford News •
May-05-2008
- Thieves: return the stolen coins Williams Lake Tribune • Apr-24-2008
- Cariboo Hotel loses $40K from BCLCA shutdown Quesnel Cariboo Observer • Apr-30-2008
- Police: We had no choice but to taser senior Kamloops This Week • May-07-2008
