Cape Breton's heavy garbage collection hit by arsonists

Arsonists are setting fire to piles of trash during the Cape Breton Regional Municipality's annual heavy garbage collection.

The streets are packed with trash too big for regular collection, including mattresses, furniture and appliances.

They'll stay on the streets for another ten days until collection.

Two nights ago, someone dragged the trash near Kim Jones's neighbour's house into the street and set it on fire.

"I though his truck was up in flames," Jones said.

"People could get hurt, vehicles could blow up. They don't know what they are doing. They [could] catch someone's home on fire when someone is asleep. It would be an awful thing."

Yvonne Simmons lives down the road and is also worried.

"I don't like it, I don't agree with it, and it's a danger and a fire hazard. If that lights on fire in another day or two, the wind shifts and it catches on the house. Like I said before, it's going to set it all on fire," Simmons said.

In past years, heavy garbage fires destroyed a building in North Sydney and chased a family from their home in Sydney.

Lloyd MacIntosh, North Sydney's volunteer fire chief, said it's a serious problem

"If it gets into a structure or where someone lives or something with value or property somewhere, then it has cost someone their livelihood their property and maybe ultimately their life," he said.

MacIntosh warned people not to pile combustibles near their home

The CBRM's heavy garbage collection begins May 18.