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OPS arrest three after suspicious fire in Green Street building

July 5, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown

Orangeville Police have arrested and charged three young persons in relation to a suspicious fire that occurred last Wednesday, June 26, at an abandoned building on Green Street. 

 Orangeville Police and Orangeville and Caledon fire departments responded to a working structure fire at 42 Green Street. 

Witnesses and available video provided to police had three suspects leaving the fire scene. 

Police began an arson investigation, as this fire was deemed suspicious.

As a result, on Tuesday, July 2, three young persons from Orangeville, were arrested, charged with arson and released to their parents. The identities of the young persons are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. 

The arrests came after a police spokesman suggested they had identified the culprits.

“We have three persons of interest that we would like to speak to,” said Staff Sgt. Lindsay White. 

Police released descriptions of three suspects and surveillance video that showed them entering and leaving the building at the time of the fire.

The three suspects were described as white males in their early to mid-teens. The first was described as having light brown or blond short to medium length hair, wearing a collared red shirt with short sleeves, blue jeans, and white shoes with black stripes. The second suspect had unknown hair colour, was seen wearing a dark coloured hat, possibly wearing dark sunglasses, with a light gray coloured shirt that transitions from light to dark gray, dark coloured tapered jeans and black shoes with white soles. The third was described as having dark medium-length hair, wearing a black t-shirt with a design on the chest, black pants, and light coloured shoes.

While Caledon and Orangeville fire fighters were on the scene the Shelburne Fire Department waited on standby.  A total of six fire trucks,  and 24 personnel from Orangeville and Caledon were dispatched to the scene. 

The building, which is now abandoned, most recently operated as a storage area and was owned by Brian’s Fuel for 32 years from 1966 to 1998. 

“It’s an old structure, it has a known history of being vacant,” said Orangeville Fire Deputy Chief Michael Richardson. 

A neighbour in the area who called in the fire and asked the Citizen to remain anonymous to avoid retribution, told the Citizen that they were concerned about the fire spreading and the possibility of an explosion due to the history of the building.  

When asked about the possibility, Mr. Richardson said there was nothing on the site that would cause an explosion. 

While the fire raised concerns for residents in the area, crime is not an unknown entity to shop owners and residents on Green Street. 

A business owner in the area said that her business was robbed last October. Other incidents on the street include the robbery of a trailer, vehicles being ransacked and a residential break-and-enter case, also from last October. 

“We are treating it as an arson right now and we’ll go from there,” said Staff Sgt. White.


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