A fire in Ajax, Ontario is being treated as suspicious after it destroyed one home and spread to two others beside it. According to CBC News, the blaze broke out at around 5 a.m., lighting up the early morning sky in what residents described as a wall of flames rising past the trees, with one house completely engulfed.
The fire struck in a relatively new development, and all three of the homes involved were unoccupied at the time. Fire crews worked quickly to bring the flames under control, but not before one of the homes was burned down, with drone footage showing only the front facade of the building still standing above the charred remains of what was inside.
Investigators believe they have pinpointed where it began. Durham Regional Police say it is believed the fire started at one of the homes and then spread to the two next door, a sequence that turned a single blaze into damage across three properties in the same development.
It is the cause that has raised concern. Police are calling the fire suspicious and say they located evidence that led them to believe the root cause may have been arson. They would not confirm exactly what that evidence was, but said they believe only one of the homes was targeted.
Officers were candid about the limits of what they can say so far. Investigators said they would explore every avenue and every possible reason for arson, including for insurance purposes, and acknowledged that while they could not state for certain that arson was a leading factor, it was always something that crosses their minds in a case like this.
For now, key parts of the case remain open. According to CBC, there were no injuries and still no suspects, and the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office has been notified to help determine the cause. Police say their investigation remains ongoing and have asked anyone with information or security camera footage to contact Durham Regional Police.