Overnight fires keep Vanier residents on edge

Some Vanier residents sayarash of suspiciousfires in their neighbourhoodstretching back to mid-April is keeping them up at night.

Four homes and a business in Vanier have been set ablazesince April 10, the most recent on Sunday at a home onMontfort Avenue. Three of the fires occurred on the same night.

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Police say all the fires share a common characteristic: they beganin a waste container near thebuildings.

"[The circumstances are]quite rare," said Det. Martin Cardinal of the Ottawa police arson unit, which has been investigating since the fires started.

"I've been working with the arson unit for five years and it's the first set of fires [I've seen] that appear to be so linked together. There may have been others that were linked, but they weren't this obvious."

Trouble sleeping at night

Julia Capyk, who lives on Montfort Street withher two-year-old daughter, said she's having trouble sleeping at night.

"I'd really like to go to bed not thinking about the fact that somebody could be setting my porch on fire,"she said.

Another Montfort Street resident,Ginette Jobin,said the anxiety has been awful.

"We never know if one day there could be a fire," she said."I'm scared every time Igo out with my husband. I'm scared someone's going to [set] fire to our place."

'Crimes of convenience'

Police and fire officials are advising residents to keep garbage and recycling binsaway from their homes, keeping their properties well-litand reporting anything suspicious.

"These are crimes of convenience, so removing that convenience factor [helps]," said Ottawa Fires Services spokesperson Danielle Cardinal.

"These are nighttime fires in residential areas, so we're a little short on witnesses and video surveillance, things of that nature,"said Det. Martin Cardinal."If you see something, say something."

He said police are stepping up patrols in the area, and the RCMPhave offered their expertise to help find whoever's responsible for the fires.

"It is my understanding [the RCMP involvement in the investigation]will be behavioural analysis of the suspect," Cardinal said.

MeanwhileOttawa firefighters are planningto knock on doors in the area Wednesday nightas part of their twice-annual campaign to ensure residents have working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.