WESTLOCK – Multiple vehicles in a locked compound were either destroyed or damaged following an early-morning June 1 fire that Westlock RCMP are calling suspicious.
Around 4:20 a.m., Thursday, June 1, RCMP and the Westlock Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the locked compound of Precision Classic Restoration and Collision Repair located at 10343 – 106th Street — someone working nearby at the time told the Westlock News they heard a loud bang, then saw black smoke billowing from the site.
Fire chief Stuart Koflick said they when they arrived “the property was secure” and the owner had to open a gate to give them access. There they found a pickup truck fully engulfed and were able to extinguish it in “10 or 15 minutes.” Koflick confirmed the fire started in the truck, while there was “exposure damage” to two or three other nearby vehicles, as well as some other equipment and estimates there was probably around $10,000 in damages.
Koflick, speaking through the locked gate at the site of the blaze around 9:45 a.m., could only say that, “ … it’s currently under investigation and there’s an RCMP file number on it.”
“It’s just a matter of me documenting the scene as we’ve been able to obtain some evidence that will assist us with our investigation,” said Koflick. “And once our report is completed, it will be forwarded to the RCMP and most likely they’ll be the lead agency.”
Westlock RCMP Detachment acting commander Cpl. Riley Sutherland confirmed the fire is “suspicious” and they’ll work with Koflick in addition to conducting their own investigation.
“We believe it’s suspicious in nature as it’s not common for parked vehicles to start on fire,” said Sutherland just after 9:30 a.m., June 1.
Handful of suspicious fires so far in 2023
The June 1 fire is one of handful of suspicious blazes authorities have responded to in town in 2023 as a pickup truck was torched on 107th Street, just west of 104th Avenue, in the early-morning hours of Jan. 19, while on Jan. 31, the Old Timers Cabin, on the Westlock Agricultural Society’s property on the west side of town just off the Old Pickardville Road, was gutted by a deliberately-set overnight fire.
In late March, Sutherland confirmed that “accelerants” were used to burn the cabin, which elevated it to a full-blown arson investigation which is currently ongoing — there was no video surveillance at the site of the cabin fire which Sutherland said, “ … makes it slightly more challenging for us.”
People with tips on any of the fires are encouraged to call the detachment at 780-349-4492, while if you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
