Car seen fleeing areas where house, barn destroyed by fire

A vehicle was spotted driving away at a high rate of speed around the time a fire was started at a farmhouse and barn just east of Guelph early Friday morning, according to police.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Bob Bortolato said they don't have a description of the vehicle yet, but someone spotted taillights of a fast-moving vehicle in the area around 3:30 a.m.

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He said there is evidence at the scene indicating two people were near the barn and house recently. There was snow on the ground at the scene.

Guelph firefighters were called to two separate blazes at abandoned buildings five kilometres apart in the early morning hours on Friday. 

The first call came in around 3 a.m. and was for a building on Highway 7 west of Guelph. The building has been abandoned for years, although it was once used as a golf driving range and in recent years, a tent has been set up on the property to sell fireworks. 

As fire crews were on the scene, a second fire was spotted on Township Road 3.Fire fighters arrived at the property to find a large barn and house ablaze.

The fire could still be seen from the highway at 8 a.m. and the smell of smoke was evident to people in Guelph's west end.

The fires are both being treated as suspicious and Const. Bob Bortolato told CBC News they are investigating if they are linked to other fires involving abandoned buildings.

"We are concerned about the number of fires that have been happening in Wellington county," he said.

Timeline of suspicious fires

• Oct. 14 – Crews responded to a fire at an abandoned home on Third Line after receiving a call at 6:05 a.m. The fire was fully involved when crews arrived.
• Oct. 19 – A second fire was reported less than a kilometre away on Third Line at another abandoned home.
• Oct. 28 – A fire was reported at a vacant home on Arkell Road.
• Nov. 16 – Crews were called to an early morning fire at a sawmill on Sixth Line, east of Fergus.
• Dec. 05 – A fire at an abandoned shed and barn in Guelph's north end is called in at 1:19 a.m. A second fire around 3:36 a.m. destroyed an abandoned barn south of Guelph on Fife Road.
• Jan. 19 – The historic Hortop's Mill near Everton, Ont., burned to the ground. Crews were called out at 3:15 a.m.
• Feb. 3 – Firefighters receive a call about a fire at an abandoned golf driving range building on Highway 7 west of Guelph around 3 a.m. While on scene, a second fire at an abandoned barn and house on Township Road 3, just east of the driving range, is noticed.