Lambton OPP is advising residents in the Watford area to be vigilant as officers investigate an unspecified number of suspicious fires.
OPP issued a brief statement about the ongoing investigation over social media on Tuesday.
"Lambton OPP, together with [Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal] are [investigating] several suspicious fires in the Watford area which occurred over the last [two] months," read the post.
Provincial Police didn't specify how many fires were being investigated, whether they were all linked, the dates in which they occurred, or the types of damage reported.
However, a statement from the investigating detective sergeant was emailed to Sarnia News Today.
"There have been multiple fires over the summer months in the rural Watford area," read the OPP statement. "We are in the early stages of investigating and want the public to be vigilant and report if they observe anything suspicious.”
Sarnia News Today reached out to Watford's fire chief and the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal but no other details were released.
"The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) is mandated to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of any fire or of any explosion or condition that in the opinion of the Fire Marshal might have caused a fire, explosion, loss of life or damage to property," read an emailed response from the OFM. "Any determination of suspicion in these events is up to local police. There are times where a fire-related incident results in concurrent police and OFM investigations however they are separate and we cannot speak to any police investigations."
Anyone with information in regards to the investigation is asked to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
