A North York couple rushed out of their home overnight when someone smashed their front window with a hammer and lit their kitchen on fire.
The Ontario Fire Marshall has been called in to investigate what police are now confirming is an arson.
A husband and wife who own the two-storey home on Grandravine Drive were sleeping upstairs when a loud bang from the main floor kitchen woke them up around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. They ran downstairs to find the kitchen ablaze and managed to escape along with their two cats and dog.
Toronto Fire was able to extinguish the fire quickly after they arrived. Platoon Chief Trevor Trotter said the house was full of smoke and there were signs of a “suspicious nature.”
Sources at the scene say a hammer was found in the garden outside the smashed kitchen window and butane cans were found inside the home.
The homeowners were treated at hospital for minor smoke inhalation and damage from the fire was contained to the kitchen.The kitchen, however, was gutted by the flames.
A witness told police he saw a person at a window outside the home just before the fire started. Police are looking at surveillance camera images in the area.
The townhouse is part of a condominium corporation. Residents in the area told CP24 that there has been an ongoing dispute between the homeowner, who is on the condo’s board, and some other residents. A petition was being circulated to remove the homeowner from the board, they said.
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