Timberlea RCMP Investigate Linked Arsons After SUV Seen Fleeing Scene

A home on Marketway Lane in Timberlea was already fully engulfed in flames when police and fire crews arrived at about 3:05 a.m., adding a new arson investigation to a street already under scrutiny.

No injuries were reported, but police say the fire is being investigated as arson and is believed to be connected to an earlier arson and an attempted arson in the same Timberlea area earlier this month.

Home engulfed before crews arrived

Police and fire crews were called to a structure fire at a home in the 400 block of Marketway Lane in the early morning hours. When responders reached the property, the home was fully engulfed.

Police said a dark-coloured SUV was seen leaving the property after the fire was set.

“In this morning’s incident, a dark-coloured SUV was seen leaving the property after the fire was set,” police said in a news release quoted by CTV News.

The sighting is now part of the investigation as police look for information from the public.

Earlier arson on same block

Investigators believe the fire is linked to two earlier incidents in the same Timberlea area: an arson and an attempted arson earlier this month.

The earlier arson, on Sept. 5, involved a Molotov cocktail thrown at a home on the same block.

Global News also reported that on Sept. 7, police received a report of a suspicious person on the same block. According to Global, investigators later learned a man had left a residence with a burning cloth, and a jug containing an accelerant had been left in the yard.

Police have not reported injuries in the latest fire.

Other suspicious activity noted

Police have also pointed to other suspicious activity in the area, including possible shots fired and a possible break and enter in August.

The latest fire now sits within a broader investigation into events police believe may be connected. Investigators have not announced charges in the case, and police are asking the public to help fill in what happened around the homes on Marketway Lane.

Patrols increased in Timberlea

Police have increased their presence in the neighbourhood, using both marked and unmarked vehicles for patrols.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers. Police are also seeking information that could assist the arson investigation, as they continue to examine the connection between the latest fire, the Sept. 5 arson and the attempted arson earlier this month.

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