Bell Island man blames drug abuse for string of arson

The latest victim of arson on Bell Island says people in the town are afraid to speak up about the recent string of fires and robberies — but he's had enough. 

"People are not talking. Guaranteed people know on this island who's doing these burns," Ed Bickford told CBC's On The Go. 

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Last Wednesday, Bickford came out of his home to find his truck in flames.

The vehicle, a GMC Sierra, was parked on the property. He had planned to repair the brake lines that weekend. 

"Oh my God, this place is unreal [since] summer. We have a lot of break and enters, armed robberies, people are not living in their houses so people are burning them."

"Garage fires, vehicle fires, trailer fires. I don't know what it is with fires but somebody's got a fetish," he said. 

'Garage fires, vehicle fires, trailer fires ... somebody's got a fetish,"- Ed Bickford, Bell Island resident

Bickford quickly grabbed a hose to extinguish the fire, but said the truck was destroyed "in a matter of minutes."

"When I was spraying in on the floor of the pickup, as the water hit it, flames raised higher. It had to be some kind of gas or an oil — could have been the plastic even, I don't know."

While hosing down some nearby trees, Bickford called the fire department and police. 

"There was nothing we could do, only watch."

Afraid to speak out 

Bickford said people are afraid to speak out about the fires for fear of being targeted.

"I have a friend that happened to hear something and they don't want to say [anything] because they're afraid that they're going to be next," he said. 

Police told Bickford that person could make an anonymous report but Bickford said his friend isn't interested. 

"They said, 'No, we're not having a thing to do with it. Not a thing.'"

Bickford believes the only answer is to bring in undercover police.

Prescription drugs and cocaine, he said, are a big problem on the island and he thinks the incidents are all connected. 

"If you had some undercover people come over and get involved with this bunch, be friends with them, get in with the clan ... they'll find out it all and then they can go arrest one or 100 people."

Prescription drugs fuelling fires

Wabana Mayor Gary Gosine also believes the incidents are being fuelled by drug use. 

"The root cause behind all of this is, no question about it, prescription drugs," said Gosine. 

He believes some fires have been "decoys," set by people who owe money for drugs but are unable to pay. 

Gosine also thinks there are upwards of six individuals responsible.

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With two armed robberies in the last month alone, Gosine said the events have taken a toll on his town. 

His biggest worry, he said, is that someone could unknowingly be inside one of the torched buildings.

"There's a lot of people in fear, there's a lot of people calling me and we're trying to do the best we can with the resources we've got." 

The mayor advises residents to keep an eye on their property, especially as it gets closer to Christmas.

"We were a quiet, dormant, next door community to St. John's. It's a great island ... the hospitality is great. We want to bring this island back to where we had it." 

Meanwhile, Bickford said there's talk of residents taking matters into their own hands, arming themselves with baseball bats and other weapons in case they are targeted. 

"It's a small island, people talk. Somebody definitely has to know who it is."