Suspect now in custody
GORE BAY—A Little Current man appeared before bail court in Gore Bay on Monday, August 11 charged in connection with seven counts of arson contrary to the Criminal Code. Charged is Clinton Gordon Haggart (30) of Little Current who remains in custody and whose next court appearance in Gore Bay is this Friday, August 15.
A string of five suspicious fires over the course of two months in Little Current, culminating in the spectacular explosion-filled three-alarm blaze that resulted in the total destruction of the warehouse building generally known as the old Little Current curling club on Campbell Street West and severe damage to an adjacent building, formerly known as the Community of Christ Church (now known as the Island Training Centre) and which contained two apartments, had residents in the Northeast Town taking extraordinary measures to protect their property and their families.
Total losses from the latest fire have not been determined. “The Office of the Fire Marshal are still putting that information together,” said OPP Community Services Officer Senior Constable Allan Boyd. Constable Boyd said there was currently little more information being released about the charges or details of evidence against the suspect.
“The case is still under investigation by the Criminal Investigations Branch,” said Constable Boyd. “This is still an active investigation and we are still seeking the public’s assistance. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the OPP. If they wish to remain anonymous, they can contact Crime Stoppers with their information. There could be a reward involved.”
Constable Boyd said that while the OPP are confident that they have arrested the right suspect, they ask people to remain vigilant. Constable Boyd noted that none of the charges against the suspect have been proven in court. “You are still innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “Just because we have someone in custody doesn’t necessarily mean that people should not remain vigilant. But I think people should be able to sleep better at night now.”
Northeast Town Mayor Al MacNevin said that while he was relieved that there was now a suspect in custody, he remained concerned about the welfare of the community’s firefighters. “Like most of the town, I am really proud of the effort our firefighters have put in,” he said. “I am concerned that they are stretched to the max, but they remain ready to roll.”
The mayor noted that although there is a suspect in custody, the Northeast Town’s fire team remains on a high level of vigilance. “We don’t know the details of the charges or whether the person responsible was acting alone,” he said. “Our fire department will remain on an enhanced state of alert until we are satisfied.”
Mayor MacNevin said that he wanted to express the municipality’s gratitude to the neighbouring communities of Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK) First Nation and the Township of Assiginack and a member of the Whitefish River First Nation Fire Department who attended, for their assistance in dealing with the fires. “I have spoken personally to AOK Chief Patsy Corbiere and she told me that they will be happy to help us. I have not connected with Assiginack Reeve Brad Ham yet.”
Those communities have mutual aid agreements with the Northeast Town, noted the mayor, but if the community continues to be plagued with fires, the municipality will need to consider finding more support for the fire department. ‘There are 12 firefighters at that scene,” he said, referring to the fire at the curling club. “But there is no second shift.”
Mayor MacNevin confirmed that two firefighters were transported by ambulance from the fire. “The explosion that sent a rush of hot air toward the firefighters resulted in one member being treated for heat exhaustion and one member being treated for smoke inhalation,” he said. “They were treated and released. Back on the job, as okay as you can get following something like that.”
The mayor advised people in the community to “stay vigilant and support our neighbours.”
[pullquote]The mayor advised people in the community to “stay vigilant and support our neighbours.”[/pullquote]
The Northeast Town has been beset with a number of fires recently. The main public works garage was likely the incident that resulted in the largest individual property damage, but that fire was deemed to not be suspicious. A fire in the neighbouring community of Sheguiandah First Nation was responded to by the Northeast Town fire department at 2 am on August 3. That fire resulted in the loss of the home of Sheguiandah First Nation Councillor Georgina Thompson, who was reportedly out of town on the day of the fire. UCCM Police attended that scene. All recent fires have been attended by members of the local law enforcement agency and the office the Ontario Fire Marshal as a precaution due to the rising number of suspicious fires occurring.
The first victims of the current rash of fires was the family of Mr. Haggart, whose Wilson Street home was destroyed along with the family’s possessions. The Haggarts were not insured.
The next fire occurred exactly one month later, striking the home of Mr. Haggart’s mother-in-law, Margaret Bowerman, and her 15-year-old son Cheyenne on the other side of town on Blake Street West.
Ms. Bowerman told The Expositor at the time that she had left her home for five minutes Sunday evening to get a dryer hose from her daughter’s house and when she returned she saw smoke billowing from what she thought was her neighbours’ home. It was, in fact, coming from her home of almost 15 years. The Bowerman family was luckily insured, but as with many fires the loss of family memories cannot be replaced.
On July 23 at 11:20 pm another fire was spotted in a garage on Blake Street. That fire was extinguished due to the fortuitous happenstance of a neighbour looking out his window and spotting the flames coming from his neighbour’s garage. That fire began in the northeast corner of the garage where a wood shop was located. At that point, Manitoulin OPP Staff Sergeant Kevin Webb told The Expositor that latest fire (by then the third in less than two months) was being treated “as a single incident.”
The fourth fire in the summer series again occurred on Blake Street on August 5, this time in a shed behind a rented house when the tenant was not home. According to the building’s owner, Jamie Still, the tenant was in Sudbury that evening. “If they had been home and their truck was in the driveway, who knows, maybe this would not have happened,” said Mr. Still.
By this time, local residents were expressing their anger and certainty that the fires were not coincidental; many vented their frustration by loudly issuing threats as to what they would do to anyone they caught setting fire to their property.
[pullquote]“You don’t know where they may strike next,” said one woman as she watched the firefighters battle the blaze.[/pullquote]
By the time a fire was spotted in a school bus parked beside the old curling club warehouse, the Northeast Town was generally abuzz with speculation, anger and fear.
Many of those whose homes are on Blake Street and the surrounding area are elderly, and many of those residents could be heard expressing deep concerns about their safety.
“You don’t know where they may strike next,” said one woman as she watched the firefighters battle the blaze.
One young man on a bicycle, who identified himself as James, was speaking to a UCCM Tribal Police officer who was assisting at the scene. “I called 911,” he said, visibly agitated, “or at least I tried to. I was put on hold for five minutes and then they came on to tell me that a police officer would be around to take a statement.” The young man had spotted the fire while cycling past the residence.
At this time it is unclear which fire or fires in the community are the subject of the charges laid against the accused. Evidence read into bail court is generally held under a publication ban by the court until the trial.
