A fire at 2573 22nd Ave. SE on Wednesday evening is being treated as arson.--NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
A fire in a local home on Wednesday evening is being investigated as an arson attack, says the Medicine Hat Police Service.
“We are treating it as an arson based on some of the witness statements that we’ve received so far,” said Staff Sgt. Chad Holt of the major crime section. “We are looking to identify all the people that were there.”
Holt says it was not how fast the fire accelerated that was suspicious but rather the observations of witnesses and suspicious behaviours. They are also waiting for additional evidence to be supplied from the fire service and more details will emerge.
Just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Medicine Hat fire crews responded to the scene of the fire at 2573 22nd Ave. SE off Dunmore Road near Southview Drive.
“When crews got on scene the fire was breaching the basement windows (of the duplex)” said Scott Hanelt, Medicine Hat Fire Service.
At the time there was nobody in the suite where the fire took place, said Hanelt. Nobody had to be rescued and there were no injuries in putting the fire out.
Holt says the suite was being rented to a tenant and their belongings were in the suite when the fire broke out.
Hanelt says fire crews were able to put the fire out fairly quickly and also stop it spreading to the other duplex unit.
After the fire was extinguished the building was checked and it was determined there was no structural damage to the building and people in the other suite could reoccupy.
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact the MHPS at 403-529-8481 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). Tips may also be submitted (anonymously if preferred) thru the MHPS Mobile App, which is free and available to download for both Apple and Android devices by searching “Medicine Hat Police Service” on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
