London police investigating two suspicious fires Sunday morning

The London Police Street Crime Unit was busy Sunday morning investigating a pair of suspicious fires.

At 4:45 a.m. London Fire Department (LFD) along with members of the London Police Service (LPS) responded to an abandoned warehouse on Littlewood Drive near Hwy 401 and Colonel Talbot Road.

The former ABC Truck pre-processing building was engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

“Crews did a great job by containing it to the property,” says Colin Shewell, a district chief with LFD.

“We had to run a shuttle out here as there is no hydrants in the area so we're able to fulfill that with the water shuttle. Crews are still on scene putting out hotspots. Fire prevention inspectors are have been on scene and we'll be working with LPS moving forward as this will be a police led event here.”

London fire crews responded to a large structure fire on Littlewoods Road in London, Ont. on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022. (Courtesy: London Fire Department) A LPS Detective Constable was investigating Sunday afternoon on site as police held the scene.

At nearly the same time as that fire, LFD was dispatched to 126 Bonaventure Drive for reports of a vehicle on fire.

When crews arrived, they used foam to extinguish the car, which spread to a vehicle beside it in the adjacent parking space.

“They were able to quickly extinguish them, and there was no extension into any of the townhouse complexes and a fence caught fire as well” says Shewell.

After the pair of vehicles were towed away Sunday morning, you could see the remains in a pair of charred parking spaces.

A LPS Detective was going door-to-door asking for anyone who had photos, videos or information.

A few residents who did not wish to be identified says it’s not surprising this incident happened in their neighbourhood, or to the owners of the vehicles.

London police tell CTV News there were no injuries in either fire, and they are both deemed suspicious.

A vehicle fire at 126 Bonaventure Drive in London, Ont. is deemed suspicious by London Police Service (Source: Submitted)There is no one in custody for either incident.

“At this point, we're just asking anyone with information to either call the non-emergency number with information or Crime Stoppers with any information that might assist us with our investigation,” says Const. Gavin Dell of the LPS.

At the same time those calls came in, LFD also received a call for assistance from Middlesex-London EMS on the shore of the Thames River in the Riverbend area.

“There was an individual in distress,” says Shewell.

“The individual did have a friend with them that we're able to communicate with our communicators and direct our crews in. We worked with Middlesex Centre Fire Service (MCFS) to have a positive end to that. We were able to remove the individual with MCFS being the lead and London Fire assisting them.”

Shewell had high praise for his communications officers who were able to handle the large events happening simultaneously and dispatch crews accordingly.  

A vehicle fire at 126 Bonaventure Drive in London, Ont. is deemed suspicious by London Police Service (Source: Submitted)