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A criminal profiler says he sees clues in the rash of rural fires across a Southwestern Ontario community that’s raised citizen concerns a serial arsonist may be on the loose.
While police haven’t declared whether they believe a single person is responsible for the blazes dating back to November across Norfolk County – there were three in one night this week – some residents fear that may be the case, raising a crucial question: What kind of person would set so many fires, and why?
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Ed Nordskog offered his insight in an interview with The London Free Press. A former profiler with the Los Angeles Sheriff Department’s arson and bomb unit, he notes he knows nothing of the Norfolk fires beyond media reports. But if it is a single offender, he sees a potential pattern of behaviour:
- Abandoned buildings have been a frequent target, he notes. “That’s one of the traits of serial arsonists. They’re sort of cowards, and so they won’t go (or) they usually don’t go near occupied structures.”
- “Most of them have police records of being detained or arrested for really odd crimes, like peeping, prowling, theft, burglaries (and vandalism), things like that. If you’re looking (into) their criminal background, that’s what you’re likely to see.”
- Very few serial arsonists do it for “the thrill,” Nordskog said. Rather, “anger and frustration” is a motivator. “Vandalism is a crime of anger. Somebody usually does it because they’re upset with something. That’s why you want to look at your very first fire in this series, because serial arsonists tend to attack things or people that are very close to them, geography-wise and personal-wise.”
- If it is a serial arsonist, he added, the late-night time of each blaze offers a clue, too. “The time of the day tells me it’s not going to be a little kid, of course, because these are (in) the middle of the night . . . right around midnight . . . a lot of serial arsonists have insomnia, they just can’t sleep.”
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WHAT DO POLICE SAY?
After this week’s trio of fires across Norfolk County, a largely rural area an hour’s drive southeast of London, OPP Const. Randi Crawford said in a video statement: “We understand how frustrating this is and scary this is for the community. We’re doing everything we can to find these individuals and hold them accountable.”
In an interview, she said that to the best of her knowledge police were looking at more than one person as the potential source of the fires, but said a single person spotted running near one of this week’s blazes “was one of the best opportunities” for police “to have actually seen who they think was leaving the scene of a fire.
“That’s why we’ve got for sure one suspect at this point,” she said. When asked if a serial arsonist may be responsible, she said: “That is definitely concerning (but) I don’t think the major crimes unit has given it that reference at this point.”
It’s a concern across the community, which includes such towns as Simcoe, Waterford and Delhi. Brad Mottashed of Simcoe has set up a website, norfolkarsontracker.com, to keep the public informed about the fires. He said in a recent interview with The Hamilton Spectator: “Most people that I see are just frightened.”
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THE FIRES, SO FAR
Norfolk County’s largely volunteer fire department battled three blazes within a few hours between late Tuesday and early Wednesday:
- An abandoned house burned at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday on Concession 6 Townsend between Angling Road and Old Highway 24, about 20 kilometres north of Simcoe.
- Shortly after midnight, firefighters were called to a fire at a gas station on Highway 24 near Forestry Farm Road, southwest of Simcoe
- At 2:20 a.m., firefighters were called to an abandoned barn on Brantford Road at Teeterville Road, about 20 minutes northwest of Simcoe
Police said a man was seen running near one scene. He’s described as a white man, about 30 years old, with a thin build and wearing a hoodie covering his face.
It’s been a few weeks since the OPP said they needed the public’s help solving seven “suspicious” fires that began in mid-November:
- Nov. 12, 10:38 p.m., Windham East Quarter Line, Simcoe
- Nov. 13, 1:03 a.m., Windham Road 13, Simcoe
- Nov. 26, 10:19 p.m., Fourteenth Street West, Simcoe
- Nov. 27, 12:03 a.m., 10th Concession Road, Langton
- Dec. 11, 4:09 a.m., Highway 24 near Concession 11, Townsend
- Dec. 19, 11:40 p.m., Concession 10 Townsend, Waterford
- Dec. 27, 12:33 a.m., St. John’s Road West, Simcoe
Police encourage anyone with information about the fires to call Norfolk OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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