Early Monday May 20, 2013 morning a school bus and truck were torched at the RONA parking lot at Beaverbrook and Wonderland Road. Police say the two vehicles were valued at $250,000 in total, with the bus being about $150,000 and the truck $100,000. Police found the remains of a commercially bought civilian firework underneath the engine of the school bus, as well as one perched on the roof of a less damaged bus nearby. London, Ont
MIKE HENSEN/The London Free Press/QMI AGENCY
A pair of suspected arsons in west London that caused $275,000 damage Monday could have been a lot worse, police say.
In an dangerous twist on the long weekend known for fireworks, spent fireworks were found at the scene of a suspicious fire outside a Wonderland Rd. N. business, south of Sarnia Rd., where firefighters found a school bus and transport truck engulfed in flames at 2:30 a.m. Police wouldn’t say whether the fireworks sparked the blaze.
The parking lot looked like a war zone: A spent firework could be seen underneath the scorched skeleton of the bus, a second sat on top of another undamaged bus, while a third was found inside a burnt-out barbecue.
Damage is estimated at $250,000.
“There’s no doubt that this had potential to be a lot worse than it was . . . There is lumber nearby. There are several more vehicles parked beside the bus,” said Const. Chris Stumpf. “Lucky it was 2:30 in the morning and (there were no) people around.”
Investigators combed the wreckage and dusted the area for fingerprints Monday morning.
“It’s apparent that fireworks were used at this location. We don’t know at this point whether that’s the cause of the fire,” Stumpf said.
Less than three hours after the first blaze, firefighters were called to a nearby elementary school where a construction trailer was engulfed in flames.
Two gas cans were visible inside the trailer next to St. Thomas More elementary school. Damage is estimated at $25,000.
Investigators are calling the fires suspicious but wouldn’t say whether the two blazes are linked.
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