57 suspicious fires cause $1M in damage: Saskatoon Fire Department

Almost 60 suspicious fires, later determined to be intentional, have caused more than $1 million in damage in Saskatoon this year, according to the Saskatoon Fire Department.

Assistant Fire Chief Yvonne Raymer told Global News 57 incendiary fires have been lit in the city as of June 22.

There were 47 incendiary fires in all of 2019 in Saskatoon.

“Any rash of suspicious fires is concerning to us,” she said.

“That’s why we’ve been working alongside the police and collaborating as much as we can with them to provide whatever information we can.”

The most recent fire took place on Sunday afternoon in the 400 block of Avenue I South.

Firefighters extinguished a fire that destroyed a couch, fence and shed and caused $2,000 in damage.

Raymer wouldn’t comment on any causes of or connections between the fires, stating that Saskatoon police are responsible for the investigations.

She noted many of the fires took place in Pleasant Hill and many at boarded-up buildings.

“There were some other similarities found by the fire investigators but that isn’t something that we would want to comment on at this time… just because there is a police investigation still ongoing,” she said.

According to the fire department, there are 52 boarded-up houses in Saskatoon and half of them have caught fire in 2020.

Fourteen of the houses are in Pleasant Hill.

Raymer said boarded-up houses are “priority one” and that firefighters are examining buildings around the city.

She said no one have been injured or killed because of the fires.

In an email, a Saskatoon police spokesperson said that several arrests have been made in connection with the fires but wouldn’t say how many.

They also stated the police have an operational plan to address the suspicious fires, but wouldn’t provide any details.

1:42 Saskatoon police investigating 29 suspicious fires over 3 weeks