Multiple fires reported in Riverbend; police investigating possible connection

The Calgary Fire Department and arson investigators are looking into what started multiple suspicious fires Thursday in the southeast community of Riverbend.

The fire started in a detached garage located in the 100 block of Riverglen Crescent S.E. around 12:40 a.m. on Thursday.

"On approach, the first arriving fire crews observed a large fire that had moved from a detached garage to a house and was spreading to adjacent homes," a CFD news release said.

More crews were called to help as the fire spread to two homes and was beginning to reach a third.

"Heat and flames from the original fire damaged property across the alley without causing spread beyond the exterior," officials said.

All of the people living in two of the homes were able to get out safe and the third house was unoccupied.

"One cat was reported missing in the source home and firefighters were able to locate the cat and provide resuscitation efforts. Calgary Police transported the cat to emergency vet care in stable condition."

The detached garage was destroyed in the blaze.

Travis O'Connell-Vacon was fast asleep when the fire broke out behind his home.

"It's kind of scary. I didn't hear anything or smell any smoke. I got my AC on, I had all that going and then I woke up to a bunch of text messages from friends being like, 'Are you okay?'" he said.

"Like, 'There's a fire behind your house.' What do you mean? Opened up my blinds and the house is just right behind me here and it's only 20 yards away and as a whole, I didn't expect that."

ATCO and ENMAX were also on scene to manage utilities.

Investigators believe two other "nuisance fires" were set to recycling bins in the back alleys of the 0 to 100 block of River Valley Crescent S.E. and the 100 block of River Valley Crescent S.E.

Police believe one fire was set around 11:30 p.m., while the other was set around the same time as the residential fire.

Bruce Crouch lives a couple of blocks away from the house fire.

He says three young males approached his back alley camera on his garage and vandalized it with purple spray paint.

"They came around to try to spray paint my security camera, then they went around the corner and spray painted my truck," Crouch said.

He says the whole thing is unfortunate.

"It's horrific," he said.

"I mean, there's nothing scarier than a fire in the middle of the night."

Police have yet to link the vandalism to the fires. 

The smaller fires are not believed to have caused any property damage, but police are investigating the possibility of the three fires being connected.

Anyone with information about these incidents, CCTV or dash-cam footage of the Riverbend area, or who believes they saw something suspicious is asked to call police by calling 403-266-1234.

Specifically, investigators are looking for footage of people in the area who may have been travelling by foot or bicycle from 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, to 6 a.m., on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in the areas of:

• The 100 block of Riverglen Crescent S.E.;
• The 0 to 100 block of River Valley Crescent S.E.; and
• The 100 block of River Valley Crescent S.E.

Investigators are also interested in footage from homes with a view of 18 Street S.E. between Glenmore Trail S.E. and Riverview Close S.E.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.