The Estevan Police Service is continuing with an investigation into a fire in north-central Estevan earlier this month.
Police Chief Paul Ladouceur told the Mercury on Monday afternoon that the fire, which occurred at the 1818 Ink tattoo parlor on April 13, is now being investigated as an arson. Previously, the fire was treated as “suspicious.”
Ladouceur said they couldn’t divulge the reasons for treating the fire as an arson, because of evidence that could impact a future trial.
He expects it will be a fairly lengthy investigation.
“They can take so long because we want to do quality and thorough investigations,” said Ladouceur. “There’s no rush with these things. Reality is, you want to take your time, and you want to get it right.
“We’ve all seen, historically, where the police have botched investigations, or failed investigations miserably, because not enough time and attention to detail was applied.”
Ladouceur doesn’t get upset when he hears people question why an investigation is taking too long, because he believes it usually reflects an investigation that is receiving the necessary attention to detail from the investigators.
And he expects this investigation will receive the necessary time.
Other agencies will be helping with the investigation, including police agencies, the province’s fire investigators and the Estevan Fire Rescue Service.
First responders were called to the fire in the early morning hours of April 13. Several blocks of Souris Avenue North had to be closed off, and the fire department was at the scene for most of
the day.
Nobody was injured in the fire, but the building received significant damage.
Anyone with information on the fire is asked to contact the Estevan Police Service at 1-306-634-4767 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
