Suspicious fires at an under construction subdivision in Erin is estimated to have caused “millions of dollars” in damages and destroyed multiple units.
On Sept. 27 just before 1 a.m., emergency crews responded to a reported structure fire on Brown Street in Erin. Brown Street is in the Erin Glen subdivision that's being built by Solmar Development Corp.
A release by OPP said there were two separate fires in the new housing development and a total of eight homes were damaged or destroyed.
Police and fire crews deemed the fires suspicious and asked the public to review video surveillance and dash camera footage for those in the area. The release noted there was also a vehicle fire reported in the vicinity a short time later and police are working to determine if it's related.
Erin’s interim fire chief Scott Bates declined to elaborate on why the fires were determined to be suspicious or what goes into determining if a fire is suspicious and deferred to the police investigation.
Bates said there were no injuries to civilians as the homes were unoccupied and not entirely built, and crews had to use excavators to bring three homes down due to safety issues. Bates said more may be taken down later due to water damage because they are semi-detached units.
When EloraFergusToday visited the scene on Saturday morning, two units side by side on one end of Brown Street appeared to have been completely destroyed. A second scene was witnessed at the other end of the block on the same street, separate from the other fire, with another destroyed unit.
Security was present in the subdivision and an OPP vehicle was seen patrolling.
Units from both of Erin’s fire stations attended to the fire and cleared the scene by 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Damage is estimated in the millions of dollars, according to a news release from the Town of Erin.
A request for comment left with Solmar Development Corp. was returned with a referral to the Town of Erin's press release.
