Halloween fires, mischief destroy buildings, boats, belongings

Halloween was not the quiet night that P.E.I. fire departments had hoped for, with the Island's fire marshal reporting 25 Halloween-related fire incidents including eight "malicious" structure fires, as well as numerous smaller fires in central and western P.E.I. that were mainly items burning on Island highways.

• Fire demolishes abandoned house in Albany

• Fires destroy 2 Tignish-area abandoned houses

Dave Rossiter said the main fires were in:

• Lakeville (North Lake)
• Richmond
• Searletown
• Lennox Island
• Kildare Capes
• Harper Road
• St. Lawrence

The fire in Richmond completely destroyed a Summerside family's second home Halloween night. No one was home, butwhen Wellington firefighters arrived the structure was fully engulfed. Tignish and Miscouche departments helped battle what they called a "stubborn" blaze over almost five hours.

We were actually hoping for another quiet year.Desmond Arsenault, Wellington FireDept.

It was one of three fires the Wellington department responded to Halloween night.

"We were actually hoping for another quiet year," said Desmond Arsenault, president and communications officer for the Wellington department.

"They do take up our resources that may be required for actual serious calls so it's frustrating," said Arsenault. "Thankfully nobody got hurt, but it is certainly frustrating to deal with these fires."

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• Halloween mischief on the decline on P.E.I.: police, fire agencies

Prince District RCMP also helped respond to those fires Halloween night.

Police reported hay burning on Route 2 leading into Tignish and "several old boats set on fire in Lennox Island," according to an RCMP release.
All structures were abandoned buildings however some still had electrical power connected which prompted visits from Maritime Electric crews.

RCMP said there "was lots of egg-throwing and garbage dumping in both Alberton and O'Leary".

The RCMP appreciate the efforts of all the fire departments involved in fighting these "needless acts of vandalism."

Mount Stewart fire chief Eddie Doyle reported no incidents on Halloween night although firefighters did help supply water to the East River Fire Dept. to battle a large straw fire in Dromore.

The fire marshal said there were also three medical first responder calls, one motor vehicle accident, and two structure fires that were accidental.