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Fee schedule has dermatologist ready to quit his practice Page A3
TUESDAY
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 35
Ron James will have Kamloopsians rolling in the aisles Page B1
THIS WEEK
This map shows the locations of each of the 50-plus suspicious fires in Kamloops over the last 12 months, based on information from the provincial government and KTW’s archives. For a more detailed interactive map, go online to kamloopsthisweek.com.
Thompson River Publications Partnership Ltd.
WESTSYDE
BATCHELOR HEIGHTS
There have been dozens of suspicious fires set in Kamloops in the last year, including one last month that killed a pet dog. WHO IS BEHIND THE FLAMES?
BROCKLEHURSTT NORTH TH HS SH SHORE HORE ORE
AIRPORT
TIB T MISSION FLATS
TRU
DUFFERIN
DOWNTOWN
VALLEYVIEW
Various groups may be setting city fires By Tim Petruk
F
STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
OR 12 MONTHS, A string of suspicious fires has plagued Kamloops neighbourhoods from Westsyde to Valleyview. When the blazes began worrying officials in April 2011, and for months afterward, investigators said they believed it was likely the fires were all related — the work of a single arsonist or a group of firebugs working together. That is no longer the case. “There’s probably three, maybe four different individuals or groups of individuals setting these fires,” Kamloops Fire Rescue chief fire prevention officer Dean Olstad told
MANUFACTURER’S
Kamloops This Week. “We work with the RCMP and we track these incidents,” Olstad said. “We work very closely with them in regard to evidence we find.” Most of the 50-plus suspicious fires since last April have been relatively minor — mainly damage to sheds, garbage cans, fences or hedges. But, some instances have been more serious. Last month, a fire in a duplex on Clearwater Avenue in North Kamloops killed a family dog. Police labelled it an arson and said the suspect went so far as to break into the home to set the blaze. The ranging methods and targets of the fires have kept authorities on their toes.
NEIGHBOURHOOD BY NEIGHBOURHOOD TIB RESERVE
2
SAHALI
2
BATCHELOR VALLEYVIEW WESTSYDE BROCKLEHURST
Figures based on information from the provincial government and KTW’s archives
3 4 6 9
14
NORTH KAMLOOPS DOWNTOWN
15
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