Two men charged with arson after suspicious fires

Leah Bauer

Advocate Correspondent

From mid-November to January there were a series of suspicious fires across Haldimand and Norfolk Counties.

This garnered attention, and rightfully so, from people and news stations across the province. On Jan. 28 there was a press conference which announced the arrest of a 43-year-old Norfolk County man and a 30-year-old Norfolk County man.

In attendance at the press conference were Norfolk Fire Chief Gord Stilwell, Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin, Norfolk OPP Inspector Andrew Tait, and Norfolk OPP Constable Andrew Gamble. All parties were very grateful to the community’s response to the fear and dismay brought about by this series of fires.

Martin noted how the fires “impacted not only property but our sense of safety and security that we cherish in this close-knit community of Norfolk County.”

She thanked all of the emergency responders for their hard work in the aftermath of these crimes giving special thanks to the Norfolk County OPP and crime unit, as well as the volunteer firefighters who she referred to as the “backbone of the emergency response team.”

Inspector Tait stated, “On Sunday evening, January 26th, 2025, officers from Norfolk County and Haldimand County detachments along with members of the OPP Crime Unit, West Regional Emergency Response Team, and Haldimand County Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Lynn Valley Rd… Shortly afterward officers conducted a traffic stop which led to the arrests of two individuals connected to the scene. Following extensive investigations it was found that these individuals were connected with multiple similar incidents across Norfolk County dating back to November 2024.”

All representatives in attendance took time to thank the Norfolk community for their dedication, and support of the OPP and Fire Department. Though really, the Norfolk community should also be thanking our first responders for all of the hard work they did in the bitter winter nights to keep our community safe. We should be very grateful to the brave men and women who spent many nights away from their families, and homes to both fight fires and work to solve this string of crimes. The accused individuals remained in custody and were scheduled to appear for a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice in Simcoe on Monday, Jan. 27.