Saskatoon residents concerned after several suspicious fires over the weekend

Residents on Saskatoon’s westside are worried after the fire department deemed several weekend fires suspicious.

Courtney Neepin-Sayese lives in the 500 block of Avenue H South and said she was away when the incident happened.

On Monday morning, she went to grab a recycling bin she had left outside.

“We found out it was melted and then the whole tarp of the fence was melted as well,” said Neepin-Sayese.

The incident happened in the early morning of July 9th at approximately 1:15 am. Damage was estimated at roughly $500.

“It’s usually a quiet neighbourhood so I was like wow,” she said. “I got six kids of my own and like what if we were home and what if we were sleeping.”

Her home was one of four calls crews responded to for fires between 12:20 and 2:30 a.m. on July 9. 

Adding to the chaos a structure fire causing an estimated $75,000 worth of damage was deemed suspicious on the 10 Block of Westview Place, according to a news release. Crews were called there at 9:55 p.m. on Saturday.

Fire crews also responded to a garage fire deemed suspicious on July 7 in the 900 block of Avenue H South. It caused about $5,000 in damages.

“It's always a concern for us when we have multiple incidents. It does tie up resources at times, and spreads us thin at times,” said Saskatoon Fire Department Fire Marshal Brian Conway.

The Saskatoon Fire Department attended a total of six suspicious fires over the weekend but says there is no particular reason for the rise in suspicious fires.

“Each fire is investigated on its own merit and whence we determine the cause that’s when we would go with police.”

Anyone with information related to the fire is asked to contact the police.