Tow truck fires may point to turf war

Violence believed to be work of towing newcomers pushing into GTA industry

Police aren’t commenting on whether they suspect there’s an organized crime link to at least seven tow truck fires in the GTA over the weekend.

Three of the fires took place in York Region, three in Toronto and one in Peel Region — just the latest incidents in a rash of violence involving the towing industry.

People in the towing industry say things are getting more violent after a year already marred by arsons and shootings.

“It seems to be escalating quite rapidly,” Mark Graves, president of the Provincial Towing Association, which has been calling for provincial standards to govern the industry, told the Star on Monday.

“We all have concerns,” said Graves, whose association represents roughly 150 companies. “Everybody’s concerned about their own safety.”

Graves said the violence is driving some ethical operators out of the business and preventing others from entering the industry.

York Region police Insp. Christina Dawson declined to comment on whether the fires are considered to be related to organized crime.

A police organized crime source said the violence is believed to be the work of aggressive newcomers pushing their way into the GTA towing business.

York police said that firefighters put out a fire at 4:30 a.m. Saturday in a tow truck at a residence on Berwick Crescent in Richmond Hill.

Then on Monday, York police responded at 3:30 a.m. to two separate calls for two trucks on fire. One was on Wood Lane, near Mill Street, east of Bathurst Street. The second fire was on Collin Court near Bathurst Street, north of Gamble Road.

There were no injuries and the tow trucks are believed to have been intentionally set on fire, police said.

Police are hoping security and dash-cam video will yield clues about who used an accelerant to set the Richmond Hill fires between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. Monday, Dawson said.

At about the same time as the Richmond Hill fires Monday, there were three other incidents in Toronto in the Bathurst Street and Finch Avenue West area of North York. Not long after that, a car and a pickup truck were torched in Peel Region.

The fires come amid numerous violent incidents related to the tow truck industry with reports of a turf war in the fiercely competitive industry.

On Dec. 8, at least three bullets were fired at tow truck drivers in York Region at Highway 404 and Major Mackenzie Drive East by a man who stepped out of a white Ford F150 truck. The drivers weren’t hit by any of the shots. The Ford F150 was later found in a residential area near Don Mills Road and Steeles Avenue East, but there have been no arrests.

On Dec. 17, three tow trucks were set ablaze in Hamilton.

Critics have blamed the violence on what they consider a lack of regulation governing the tow truck industry, meaning drivers sometimes dispute who should be allowed to handle particular collisions.

Graves said the violence takes place amid a dearth of regulations and standards.

“You don’t know who you’re going to be dealing with by the side of the road,” Graves said.

Police hoping security and dash-cam video will yield clues about who set the fires