Saskatoon man faces five arson charges after gas pumps lit on fire

Saskatoon Fire Department (file photo)

Police arrested a 33-year-old Saskatoon man in connection with a series of arson cases on Saturday.

Investigators had identified but not located a suspect after several pumps and the canopy at a gas station and a series of dumpsters were lit on fire in Stonebridge on Thursday, according to a Saskatoon police news release.

Just before 3 a.m. on Thursday, fire crews were called out to a blaze at the Co-op Gas Bar on Stonebridge Boulevard.

“On arrival, multiple gas pumps and the canopy over the pumps were observed to be on fire,” the fire department said.

The fire was quickly brought under control. An investigator determined the suspicious fire caused about $40,000 in damage.

Two more fires occurred just before 4 a.m. in nearby metal storage and waste bins on Clarence Avenue South and Cope Crescent.

Around 7:22 a.m., the fire department says a caller reported a fourth fire on the same block of Clarence Avenue South, but at a different address.

This blaze, which was extinguished when crews arrived, was also started in a waste disposal bin.

On Saturday, officers discovered the suspect in the 500 block of Main Street while responding to a report of a suspicious person and took him into custody, police said.

Investigators believe he is also responsible for a fifth arson incident in the 1000 block of Clarence Avenue South in May.

Police say he also had other warrants out for his arrest. The man faces five counts of arson.

His next court appearance is on Oct. 10.