The charred remains of a home in the 900 block of 18th. St. W. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Suspicious fires

Arson or Accident? West Flat fire under investigation

Jun 9, 2020 | 5:10 PM

The number of structure fires in a West Flat neighbourhood continues to grow, and residents are feeling anxious.

Within the past three weeks, the Prince Albert Fire Department responded to nine structure fires, all within a 10-block radius from the 800 block of 13th St. W. to the 900 block of 18th. St. W. The most recent fire occurred last Saturday morning.

The family who was living at the house was able to get out in time, but required medical assistance.

On Tuesday, paNOW went to the neighbourhood and talked to several residents about the recent incidents. All requested their names not be published, for fear of being targeted. One woman said there’s been a lot of unwanted activity in the neighbourhood.

“It’s not even just the fires, there’s been gunshots,” she said gesturing to nearby homes.

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These boarded up houses in the 900 block of 18th St. W. are believed to have been targeted. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Another woman said she appreciates the work police are doing.

“They are doing a lot more cruising than they used to,” she said.

A third woman on the street said the fires have come far too close to home, and she is worried about her family’s safety.

“There’s a lot of gang members just walking around and they are talking about each other, getting mad at each other, and then stuff like [these fires] are happening,” she said.

Ward Councilor Charlene Miller said she received a few calls from concerned residents, and addressed them by speaking to Deputy Police Chief Jason Stonechild.

“This last one there were people in the house this time and I’m quite concerned that somebody is eventually going to get hurt and so hopefully we catch whoever is doing this,” she said.

Charlene Tebbutt, a spokesperson for the Prince Albert Police Service, confirmed a number of the fires are under active investigation. She could not provide the number of fires under investigation, if there are any suspects, or if the fires are believed to be connected.

One fire from last Saturday is part of a police investigation, a spokesperson for the fire department said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell