Search underway for Oshawa tow truck arsonist

The recent rash of tow trucks set ablaze has continued in Oshawa with another fire reported on Sunday.

Durham Regional Police and Oshawa Fire Services responded to the fire on Capilano Cr. shortly after 3 a.m. on Sept. 10. On arrival they found a white Chevrolet tow truck fully engulfed in flame. Oshawa Fire Services were able to get control of the blaze and extinguish it. No one was injured.

Investigators are treating the blaze as arson and are calling for any witnesses in the area last night to come forward.

This is the latest in a spat of such fires in what appears to be a tow truck turf war. Another tow truck was found ablaze near Norwill Cr., about 10 kilometres north of the Capilano Cr. fire, on Aug. 31. This truck, a white GMC, was also targeted early in the morning with first responders arriving around 4 a.m.

The preceding Monday, Aug. 28, two other tow trucks were torched in Ajax. First responders first arrived at a blaze near Salem and Taunton Rds. around 10 p.m. A suspect was seen fleeing the scene but managed to evade capture. Police describe him as a tanned man in his mid-20s, standing 5-foot-11 to 6-foot tall.

Just a few hours later responders were called to another blaze in the the driveway of a home on Seggar Ave. near Rossland Rd. Nobody was reported injured in any of the fires and investigators are treating all of them as arson cases.

These last pair of fires means tow truck arsons have been reported every year since 2019. However, police have not commented on any link between them.

Anyone with information can call police at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 1615 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).