'Be vigilant': 24 arsons in south Edmonton under police investigation

A housing project fire at 92 Avenue and 81 Street burns in the early morning of Nov. 7, 2024. (Source: Submitted)

The Edmonton Police Service now says it is investigating 24 suspicious fires in south Edmonton.

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On Friday EPS said it was investigating seven suspicious fires in southeast and southwest Edmonton dating back to May.

At a news conference on Monday, officers announced that number has now increased to 24 for the year, including one new suspicious fire that happened since the announcement on Friday.

"We can now confirm that we are investigating a total of 24 arsons that have occurred in Allendale, Belgravia, Ritchie, King Edward Park, Holyrood and Strathern this year," Insp. Shannon Dechamplain told reporters on Monday afternoon.

"Many of these fires have taken place in residential neighbourhoods, including occupied residences, unoccupied new homes and detached garages and sheds."

Dechamplain said no injuries have been reported as a result of the fires and investigators are still trying to determine if there is anything linking them other than proximity.

No arrests have been made, but Dechamplain said "persons of interest have been identified," although she would not elaborate further and would not say how many people police have identified.

"I'm not prepared to speak to that today," she said.

Dechamplain says officers continue to patrol the impacted communities.

She had the following advice for residents in the affected neighbourhoods who might be concerned about their homes:

"Members should continue to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police."

Despite the media conference, Dechamplain says Edmonton has seen a similar number of arsons in 2024 as this time last year.

"There's nothing to indicate at this time that things are significantly higher than previous years," she said.

"Anytime that any kind of an event is reported to the Edmonton Police Service, we take it seriously and we investigate it to the best of our ability, whether it's on par or our numbers are below par or above par."

Investigators do not believe the fires are connected to Project Gaslight, a series of extortions targeting the South Asian business community.

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.