Third night of suspicious vehicle fires in Montreal, arson squad investigating

For the third night in a row, the Montreal police arson squad is investigating multiple vehicles being torched.

Two fires damaged four other vehicles Friday in Montreal. They were all parked in the Rivière-des-Prairies neighbourhood in the northeast part of the city.

No injuries were reported.

About 24 hours earlier, nine cars and a school bus were destroyed by fire in three suspicious fires in the boroughs of Saint-Laurent, Saint-Léonard and Montreal North.

The Montreal police (SPVM) arson squad say there is no doubt that Friday's fires were deliberate because, at the two locations where they took place, traces of products that fanned the flames were found.

A 911 call at around 2:45 a.m. alerted police to the first fire involving a car parked in the driveway of a private residence on Gouin Boulevard, near the intersection of 6th Avenue.

The other 911 call came in around 3:30 a.m. and emergency responders found three cars on fire on a property on Pierre-Blanchet Avenue, near 4th Avenue.

On both occasions, Montreal firefighters (SSIM) were able to extinguish the flames and prevent them from spreading to residential buildings.

The four cars that were targeted by the attacks were to be examined later in the day on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 28, 2023.