Discussing the prevalence of arson activity in Whitecourt

As the demolition of KW Pets and Sew Right effectively erases the long-time businesses from Whitecourt’s downtown, residents are wondering, what now? A rebuilding permit has not been applied for yet, and the realization that a hole will remain on the block is sad indeed. The fire responsible for destroying the building on December 26 ended up being the work of two Edson residents that caused millions of dollars in damages during their fire-fueled spree.

“They didn’t have any remorse or any consideration for anything. If they (the arsonists) broke into the pet store, they knew exactly what was in there for live animals and still lit it up. There was no consideration at all for anything alive,” said Fire Chief Brian Wynn. He said that the mentality of being so inconsiderate for life is scary and could have escalated had they not been caught. “If you have that kind of mentality, what are you going to light on fire next? If you do not care about life or anything else, what is going to stop you from doing more? Not much, I don’t think. With the pet store, they had no consideration for the apartment next door above the dry cleaners either. The person was luckily not there, but that could have potentially caused a fatality,” he explained.

Chief Wynn added that it typically is one person that crosses the line and that it is just a continual thing until they are caught. Though there have been some high profile arson cases in Whitecourt, such as St. Joseph’s Church back in the early 2000s and the Wolverines Centre of Excellence in 2016, the most common type of arson they tend to see are vehicle fires. Roughly once a month, the fire department is dispatched to deal with a vehicle engulfed in flames. “It’s likely one person trying to get rid of the evidence by lighting everything up.”

He said that he commends the RCMP members for doing a good job investigating and apprehending the two men responsible for the crime spree. “You noticed right away that all the fires stopped. Finding the person(s) is important, and I don’t think the courts go soft on arsonists, and we’re glad about that.” He said that the two men involved with KW Pets/Sew Right “ramped it up to pretty critical and serious right away” and that one can only guess what they could have done next had they not be found. He also said that sharing information with law enforcement needs to be done more. “I am sure that these individuals talked to people, and I’m sure it wasn’t a surprise when they were arrested. If anybody has suspicions, they need to share it.”

Specifically, for the linked string of fires in Edson and Whitecourt, the damage was in the millions. “In the end, we all end up paying for it because the insurance companies paid out, and the rates go up. Just like the Fort McMurray fire and the Slave Lake fire, all our insurances went up because of the big claim. So, the sooner we can get these people arrested and in jail, the better,” said Chief Wynn. “We used Sew Right a lot. It was a business that we relied on as a fire department.” He said that though he didn’t utilize the pet store as often, he noticed that as soon as it was no longer available, countless residents were trying to locate food for their pets that they had only been able to get at KW Pets previously. “Losing these two businesses affected quite a lot of people.”

In 2020, the Whitecourt RCMP investigated two arson occurrences. In 2019 it was seven, but one of the seven was later found to be unfounded. In 2018, there were three occurrences. “This may not reflect all the calls for service. These were simply the occurrences where that offence was listed as the primary or most serious offence investigated,” said Constable Alex Ayres, General Investigation Section. There are currently unsolved arsons in the area, and if/when new information is brought forward or discovered, the investigations would pick up where they left off.

However, arson cases can be challenging to investigate, which makes it even more important for residents to be forthcoming with any information they may have. “Even details that may appear insignificant to the beholder can be incredibly valuable to Investigators in looking at the big picture. Arsons can be lengthier investigations that are heavily reliant on physical evidence where we work with our partner agencies, such as local fire departments and provincial partners to solve,” said Constable Ayres.

Chief Wynn echoed those sentiments. “With the KW Pets/Sew Right fire, we had three insurance companies, plus the Fire Department and the RCMP had three investigators there. We were all trying to find the cause and the origin of the fire. I’ve learned a lot from working side by side with the RCMP and the Insurance companies.” One of the biggest things that the community can do is have good surveillance videos. “Getting good video is important, especially from the street where they could get the vehicle going by and maybe get a plate number. It can be a big help.”

Constable Ayres said that cold cases periodically get reviewed to see if “a fresh public call-out would provide assistance to investigators.” He said that those are dealt with on a case by case basis. Residents that have any information on unsolved fires or crimes within the community are encouraged to come forward and share with Whitecourt RCMP detachment members. Doing so is for the betterment of Whitecourt, and everyone reaps the benefits of that.