Fire in northwest London that leveled two unfinished homes deemed suspicious, police say

A major residential fire in northwest London last week that resulted in the collapse of two under-construction homes has been deemed suspicious, London police said Monday.

Multiple fire trucks responded to the blaze on Lawson Road just past Sandbar Street around 1:15 a.m. on Aug. 18. Two homes at the scene were fully engulfed when crews arrived, while a third was partially burned, police said.

Firefighters at the scene dealt with several obstacles, including a lack of paved roads and a significant amount of mud, said District Fire Chief Scott Turnbull at the scene.

RELATED: Unfinished homes in northwest London collapse after fire

Crews managed to keep the third home from suffering severe damage, but the first two homes eventually collapsed into their basements, sheltering the fire. It took about an hour to get the fire under control.

Damage in the incident is estimated at approximately $600,000, police said.

Investigators now believe the fires are suspicious and are seeking the public’s help gathering information.

Speaking with AM980 on Friday, home builder Val Bolierio of Highview Homes said he believed that morning’s blaze, and several previous fires were the result of arson.

“This is the fourth time they’ve tried to set fires at this site,” he said at the scene. “The first one, we contained it, it didn’t go anywhere, about a 6-by-6 hole in the ground, we just pulled out a sheet of plywood and that was the extent of it.”

“The other one was just piles of fire, it didn’t amount to much, and then across the street, they tried to start fires in the bathtub as well, didn’t amount to much,” he said.

Bolierio said he was considering enhancing security around the properties as a result of the fires.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

— With files from Natalie Lovie and Victor Young