Sudbury police investigate another suspicious fire

'Suspicious' Hanmer fire being investigated Sudbury fire officials are investigating after an early morning fire at a Hanmer townhouse complex.

Sudbury — Robert Mcnamara was making a trip to the bathroom early Thursday morning when he heard three loud explosions.

“I live right behind Bonik Tower on Arthur Street," Mcnamara said. "It didn’t sound like fire crackers or anything like that. They were big explosions. So I raced outside and walked up the hill and saw a car on fire.”

When he noticed no one was around, he called 911.

“I didn’t see any cars," Mcnamara said. "I didn’t see anybody until the firemen showed up -- and pretty awesome. Hats off to the fire people in Sudbury I called … I looked down at my phone they were there in six minutes, which is pretty impressive.”

He adds that this sort of thing doesn’t happen often in the neighbourhood where he lives.

“I live in Pleasantville Sudbury, so our street is boring there’s usually nothing going on," Mcnamara said.

"I do have an apartment directly behind my house and there must be at least a thousand people living there and the majority of the people at Bonik Towers are elderly so they slept through it I guess.”

Counted 12 explosions

Mcnamara said he counted a total of 12 explosions during the whole ordeal.

“It looks like there must have been something going on because cars just don’t explode, you know, and keep exploding. So you know I heard 12. Three in my house and the rest while I was walking up to see the property.”

When fire services responded to the blaze it was determined that the fire was suspicious and Greater Sudbury Police were called to investigate.

This isn’t the first time this month police have been called in for a suspicious fire.

“In the month of May, we’ve responded to seven suspicious fires or arsons," said police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn. "Two of them have been on a motorcycle and one a boat. The rest have been structure fires.”

Dunn said police believe the fires are unrelated.

“Due to the fact that these are happening in various areas across the city -- some in Lively, Chelmsford, Barry Street, and then other areas within the West End -- it is very unlikely that any of these are related in any way," she said.

"However, we are going to investigate each one of them as a criminal offence in order to determine who conducted or started the fire.”