TORONTO -- The fact that people are staying indoors and “closing their curtains” due to COVID-19 may be a factor in why investigators don’t have more information about the person or people responsible for a fire at a Brampton school on Saturday, Peel police say.
Emergency crews were called to the St. Leonard Elementary School, in the area of Conestoga Drive and Sandalwood Parkway East, at around 5:45 p.m. after receiving reports of black smoke billowing from the building.
The blaze was quickly knocked down and no injuries were reported, but police say the fire caused about $8 million in damages.
In a news release issued over the weekend, police said the fire was “intentionally set.”
“The suspect(s) attended various areas inside of the school and caused significant damage to classrooms, electrical systems and other important areas before attending the office area where the fire was set.”
Police said the repair will take about 12 to 18 months. It is not yet clear what this means for students if schools are to reopen either in June or in the new academic year.
"(It's ) too early to say but we are starting to look at options for students and staff for September," Bruce Campbell, a spokesperson for the Peel Catholic School Board, said. "The timeline is an estimate based on preliminary assessment but damage is quite significant to a variety of systems within the school."
Speaking to CTV News Toronto Monday morning, Const. Danny Marttini said that investigators have not been able to find surveillance video of the area.
“It’s very important that if there is anyone out in that area that was either driving or lives in that area that they review their footage and see if they can help us,” she said.
Police say that they are looking for video footage of the area taken between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on May 9. When asked about why the incident may have gone unnoticed, considering the fire is believed to have been set in broad daylight, Marttini said that people may not have taken notice of one or two people walking by.
“Nowadays, especially with the COVID-19 and ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe,’ we are really basically staying indoors, people are closing their curtains and watching their shows and having group discussions in their homes with their families, so that might be part of it.”
Anyone with information is being asked to contact police or reach out to Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from John Musselman
