Neighbours 'very scared' after 2nd suspicious fire on same road in 3 days

Karn Laursen says people living on Curl Road in Stone Mills, Ont. are afraid.

"Very scared," she said, fighting tears outside her home on Wednesday. "All the neighbours here are worried."

Behind Laursen stood the charred remains of her garage and evidence of the flames that had reached the house, curling shingles and melting siding.

The fire that woke her up around 1 a.m. marked the second time a garage burned down along the rural road in the past three days.

It's also the third suspicious fire in the area this week, according to OPP.

"I don't know why somebody would do this," Laursen said, adding her daughter's room is next to the garage.

"People were sleeping in that house. We could have been seriously hurt or we could have died."

Laursen said she'd fallen asleep on the couch before heading to bed sometime after midnight. She had been tossing and turning when suddenly she heard a loud bang.

Her description of the noise and what she saw outside was very similar to what she heard from her neighbours, the McKinleys who live two doors down.

That couple told reporters they'd heard a similar noise before their own garage was burned two days before.

"I just saw orange," said Laursen. "And, actually, the glass crack from the heat."

A shed attached to their garage was ablaze. Laursen said the couple yelled for their kids, gathered their pets and jumped in their pickup truck, heading down the driveway to escape the flames.

An 'unusual number' of fires

Firefighters were called to the second garage fire on Curl Road at about 1:33 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Ontario Provincial Police.

Officials said no one was injured, but the fire spread from the garage to the house and caused damage.

Investigators said they don't yet know whether the latest fire is related to two other suspicious fires earlier this week that destroyed a community centre in nearby Napanee and another garage on the same road.

OPP Const. David Yome said there have been an "unusual number of fires" in the area recently, but said "there would be no danger to the public at this point that we're aware of."

Stone Mills Fire Chief Jeff Thompson said Laursen's garage was engulfed in flames when crews arrived.

"There was some water damage and smoke damage in the main structure of the house, but most of the damage was in the garage," Thompson said.

The upper level of the building is totally gone, but the four walls are still standing, according to the chief. He said a vehicle that was parked inside is also considered a total loss.

Laursen said her family had a chance to look inside the house once the fire was out. They found their pine floors blackened and gaping holes in the walls.

She fears paintings by her grandfather as well as family photos have been destroyed.

"It's black everywhere inside with soot. It reeks of smoke and goodness knows what," Laursen said. "It's a disaster."

Police aware of links between Monday fires

Police previously deemed a pair of early morning fires on Monday as suspicious.

One caused a community centre owned by the Lennox Agricultural Society to burn to the ground, while the second destroyed the garage and vehicle of Carol McKinley, the organization's president.

OPP told CBC that investigators are "aware of the links between the two fires."

No arrests had been made as of Tuesday

Laursen said her family isn't connected to the agricultural society and haven't even gone to the fair it puts on in years.

The OPP and Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating the fires.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

Laursen said she's not sure where her family will stay while the investigations continue. Neighbours, including the McKinleys, are offering their support.

"We have to find somewhere where we can be stable and safe for everybody for a while," she said.