6 days ago
'Careless and reckless act': Police deem Edmonton playground fire as arson
Just four days after an elementary school playground in north Edmonton was destroyed by a fire, police have determined the blaze was a result of arson.
Just after 8 a.m. on Saturday, a fire broke out at St. Pius X Elementary School's playground in the community of Sherbrooke.
While police have yet to make any arrests in relation to the suspected arson, investigators said in a media conference call on Wednesday afternoon that the investigation is moving forward.
'The investigation has progressed nicely,' said EPS acting inspector Eric Stewart.
'We have been able to gather really good evidence and CCTV footage of this event. The investigation is progressing in the way we'd like. We've not identified suspects yet, but I'm confident that will come in the very near future.'
Stewart said they don't know as of yet the ages of the suspects, and total damage to the playground hasn't been determined yet either, but investigators are thankful that the fire didn't spread to the elementary school.
Fire crews arrived on scene at 8:06 a.m. and were able to extinguish the fire in 17 minutes. There were no reports of injuries and no evacuations were needed.
'We can't say what caused it, whether there was an accelerator used or not or whether it's the material or other factors involved that made it catch so quickly. It went up pretty fast,' said Stewart.
'Not in my 22 years of policing have I ever seen any case like this. It's not a common occurrence we see here in Edmonton.'
Sherbrooke Community League members spent nearly a decade raising funds to build the playground, and now they're left devastated. But the community is trying to rally to raise funds to rebuild the playground.
Police are working with fire crews to determine how the blaze caught so quickly. Investigators are also trying to determine whether this was a 'targeted' or 'random' event.
Stewart said they can confirm there is more than one suspect, and that multiple people were in the area of the playground prior to, during and after the fire was set.
'To the individuals who were at the scene at the time of this event. You either witnessed it, or have knowledge of it, or were involved in this. We ask that you come forward and contact police as soon as you can,' said Stewart.
'This was a very careless and reckless act by the individuals involved in this event.
'We're very fortunate that this school didn't catch fire. It was very close proximity to this playground. It's a very unfortunate set of circumstances that now the kids that attend this school, and all the community members that put effort into building this playground, don't have a playground in the next school year.'
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