Second fire in three days at Curve Lake destroys house

$300K fire in house across the street from Sunday’s fire under investigation by police

CURVE LAKE — A second house was destroyed by fire on Mississauga St. on Curve Lake First Nation early Wednesday, just three days after another house on the same street went up in flames.

Randy Jopling, acting chief for Selwyn Township’s fire department, said no one was hurt but the fire is being treated as suspicious and the house was uninsured.

Jopling said firefighters arrived at the scene around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and were there for 16 hours.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Jopling said the Officer of the Ontario Fire Marshal was investigating and that Anishnabek Police Services were on the scene too.

The house is on Mississauga St. - the main street on Curve Lake - across from the home of Alison and Sandy Benson. The Bensons’ house was destroyed in a blaze on Sunday morning.

The Bensons, who are siblings, were taken to hospital for treatment of shock and for smoke inhalation.

Jopling said the house destroyed on Wednesday was vacant. He said the home owner moved in with his girlfriend about a week or so ago.

Home owner Anthony Rosetaylor told CHEX-TV that police found him at his girlfriend’s house at about 3 a.m. to inform him that his house had burned down.

He had inherited the house from his late parents about two years ago, Rosetaylor told CHEX-TV.

Jopling said it was still unclear Wednesday afternoon what caused the latest blaze, and that more would be known as the fire marshal investigates.

Although he didn’t have an exact damage estimate, Jopling said the house was likely worth somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000.

After the first fire on Sunday night, a GoFundMe campaign was set up for the Bensons. Sandy Benson was a well-known dancer at powwows for years, and his regalia was lost in the fire.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the campaign had collected more than $10,000.