Arson is suspected in a pair of fires that totaled at least two vehicles at separate Carl Avenue residences Wednesday night.
The heat from the flames also caused damage to three other vehicles.
The smell of smoke still hung heavy in the morning air on Wednesday as the noon hour approached, melted rubber and plastic fused to the asphalt in front of victim David St. Pierre’s home.
St. Pierre, 23, awoke to the banging of his door, his cousin desperately trying to let him know his 1988 Volkswagen Jetta was ablaze.
“It was like watching a movie where some car blows up and huge flames are erupting. It’s just insane. It was crazy to see that it was actually happening right beside me. Never have I ever seen anything come up in flames that heavy, especially in a car,” St. Pierre said, his spirits surprisingly high in light of the incident.
“It was remarkable. For it to set it on fire and to damage the vehicle (next to his Jetta) that badly as well, that was no ordinary fire. It was a hot, hot fire.”
With the exception of a relatively intact engine block, the Jetta, blocked in the driveway by another car, is a burnt-out shell, a mangled mess of melted wires and charred metal, everything flammable having burnt away in the inferno.
Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue Service officials, in a release issued on Wednesday morning, confirmed the fires were both arsons.
Capt. Terry Hanchar said the department arrived on scene at 280 Carl Ave. shortly after 3 a.m. and found a 1998 Grand Am fully engulfed and a second vehicle next to it also on fire.
Still on the scene investigating, with police on their way, a second call came in about another car on fire a block-and-a-half away, the St. Pierre residence.
“When fire crews arrived (there), they found three vehicles on fire in front of the residence,” Hanchar said in the release. “These fires were quickly brought under control with the house sustaining fire damage to the windows.
“Thunder Bay police were on scene and were quick to apprehend two suspects in the area that were brought in for questioning.”
Thunder Bay Police Services spokesperson Chris Adams confirmed two people, one age 18, the other a year younger, were in the vicinity and picked up for questioning, and that the department's criminal investigation branch on Wednesday afternoon was continuing to look at both as potential suspects.
The heat from the flames also caused damage to three other vehicles.
The smell of smoke still hung heavy in the morning air on Wednesday as the noon hour approached, melted rubber and plastic fused to the asphalt in front of victim David St. Pierre’s home.
St. Pierre, 23, awoke to the banging of his door, his cousin desperately trying to let him know his 1988 Volkswagen Jetta was ablaze.
“It was like watching a movie where some car blows up and huge flames are erupting. It’s just insane. It was crazy to see that it was actually happening right beside me. Never have I ever seen anything come up in flames that heavy, especially in a car,” St. Pierre said, his spirits surprisingly high in light of the incident.
“It was remarkable. For it to set it on fire and to damage the vehicle (next to his Jetta) that badly as well, that was no ordinary fire. It was a hot, hot fire.”
With the exception of a relatively intact engine block, the Jetta, blocked in the driveway by another car, is a burnt-out shell, a mangled mess of melted wires and charred metal, everything flammable having burnt away in the inferno.
Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue Service officials, in a release issued on Wednesday morning, confirmed the fires were both arsons.
Capt. Terry Hanchar said the department arrived on scene at 280 Carl Ave. shortly after 3 a.m. and found a 1998 Grand Am fully engulfed and a second vehicle next to it also on fire.
Still on the scene investigating, with police on their way, a second call came in about another car on fire a block-and-a-half away, the St. Pierre residence.
“When fire crews arrived (there), they found three vehicles on fire in front of the residence,” Hanchar said in the release. “These fires were quickly brought under control with the house sustaining fire damage to the windows.
“Thunder Bay police were on scene and were quick to apprehend two suspects in the area that were brought in for questioning.”
Thunder Bay Police Services spokesperson Chris Adams confirmed two people, one age 18, the other a year younger, were in the vicinity and picked up for questioning, and that the department's criminal investigation branch on Wednesday afternoon was continuing to look at both as potential suspects.
St. Pierre said his next-door neighbour, who made the 911 call, was a witness to the entire incident.
“The neighbour said she saw some people inside of (the car) smoking. I guess one thing led to another or they ashed the wrong way and just set the car on fire. They ran away. Maybe they set it on fire on purpose,” St. Pierre said, at first trying to rationalize that no one would do this on purpose.
Seconds later, reminded that a neighbour a few hundred metres down the street suffered a similar fate, his mind was made up.
“It’s no coindence. They did it and they completely did it on purpose. It’s super frustrating because no more than a half an hour later I had to get up for work and I couldn’t even go to work due to the fact that my vehicle was damaged; burnt to a crisp and destroyed pretty much.”
St. Pierre, who noted the Jetta wasn’t being used at present, said it’s sad to see the neighbourhood he grew up in deteriorating the way it appears to be.
“There has been recent attempts of robberies around this neighbourhood as well,” he said. They tried to steal our motorcycle and other stuff and loose change. I guess they found some way to get into the vehicle and thought they were having some fun.
“But that’s not really fun for other people who have to suffer the consequences. It’s a shame that it came down to this.”
“The neighbour said she saw some people inside of (the car) smoking. I guess one thing led to another or they ashed the wrong way and just set the car on fire. They ran away. Maybe they set it on fire on purpose,” St. Pierre said, at first trying to rationalize that no one would do this on purpose.
Seconds later, reminded that a neighbour a few hundred metres down the street suffered a similar fate, his mind was made up.
“It’s no coindence. They did it and they completely did it on purpose. It’s super frustrating because no more than a half an hour later I had to get up for work and I couldn’t even go to work due to the fact that my vehicle was damaged; burnt to a crisp and destroyed pretty much.”
St. Pierre, who noted the Jetta wasn’t being used at present, said it’s sad to see the neighbourhood he grew up in deteriorating the way it appears to be.
“There has been recent attempts of robberies around this neighbourhood as well,” he said. They tried to steal our motorcycle and other stuff and loose change. I guess they found some way to get into the vehicle and thought they were having some fun.
“But that’s not really fun for other people who have to suffer the consequences. It’s a shame that it came down to this.”
Adams said investigators are looking into whether or not the recent spate of arsons are related to other vehicle arsons committed over the weekend in Westfort.
