FREDERIC SERRE
The 1510 West

Police and firefighters were busy dealing with five criminally-set car fires last week in Pointe Claire and Dollard des Ormeaux – a type of arson that is on the rise on the island of Montreal, police say.

A citizen called 911 at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 to report a car on fire in the driveway of a residence on Pendennis Avenue, near Hilary Avenue in Pointe Claire. By the time firefighters reached the scene, the car was engulfed in flames. Damage to the residence was also reported. Investigators also discovered another vehicle parked nearby had been splashed with an accelerant, leading them to believe they were dealing with an arsonist.

Véronique Dubuc of the Montreal Police Service said no injuries were reported and no suspects have been arrested, adding that the incident is now being investigated by the arson squad.

Dubuc said police were also busy 24 hours earlier investigating a car fire less than a kilometre away. At about 2:40 a.m. on Dec. 2, firefighters were called to a private residence on Hastings Avenue near Empress Avenue to extinguish a car fire. The vehicle was declared a total loss. Again, the arson squad is investigating.

A day earlier a similar scenario unfolded, this time in Dollard, where firefighters and police responded to a vehicle on fire in front of a residence on Louis Riel Street near Iberville Street. The call came in shortly before 4 a.m. The car was a total loss.

“The circumstances surrounding this (Dec. 1) fire are unknown and suspicious,” said Dubuc. “The investigation is in the hands of the SPVM.”

Dubuc said two other vehicles had been set ablaze on Louis Riel Street at 8 p.m. the previous day.