2 overnight fires in Napanee deemed suspicious by police

Frances Garrah woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of sirens and crackling flames.

"That was devastating," she said, standing next to fire trucks and hoses scattered over the street, with the still smouldering remains of the Memorial Community Centre a short distance away.

When the Napanee, Ont., resident opened her front door around 3 a.m. Monday she said flames could be seen above the tops of the trees and she could feel the heat on her face.

"They were raving, you understand?" she said of the flames. 

"We could hear the crackling in our home. That's how much noise it was. Just everything crackling and going crazy. We were pretty upset. We didn't sleep all night."

According to a news release, first responders were called to a report of a structure fire on York Street at about 2:30 a.m. No injuries were reported, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), but the structure was heavily damaged.

Police closed York north of Bridge Street and west of Simcoe Street while firefighters extinguished the blaze. The fire is currently being investigated as suspicious.

20 homes evacuated

Greater Napanee Fire Chief Bill Hammond estimated the cost to repair the building would be in the millions. The cause is still under investigation.

Hammond said crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire.They called in backup from Kingston and Loyalist Township — at the height of the fire 36 firefighters were on scene.

The chief said crews were pouring about 12,000 litres of water on the flames for several hours, adding he apologizes to anyone nearby who woke up to low water pressure.

"We also evacuated 20 homes in the area with the help of the OPP," Hammond said. "[There were] multiple explosions throughout the fire."

The building previously housed a roller rink and was used as an armoury for the Sea Cadets. The chief said some weapons were destroyed in the fire.

"Many kids, adults now, skated or lace up their skates for the very first time ... in this arena," he said. "It's going to be a sorry loss for this community."

Police are asking anyone who lives in the area of the agricultural building and has dashcam or home surveillance footage to send it to OPP.

2nd fire nearby

Police are also investigating a second suspicious fire in the Napanee area. This one was at a residence in nearby Stone Mills Township.

No one was injured.

Firefighters could be seen outside a home on Curl Road Monday afternoon, shoveling charred items out of what appeared to be a garage that had largely burned to the ground.

A white vehicle was parked a short distance away, its front end heavily damaged and discoloured from the fire.

OPP and the Ontario fire marshal are investigating. 

Const. David Yome declined to provide more detail on why the fires are considered suspicious, beyond the fact they're near each other geographically and happened within the same time frame.