If you were wandering around downtown London in the early hours of Friday morning, you might have noticed some serious emergency action going down on Dufferin Avenue. What started as a routine fire call has turned into something much more intriguing for local authorities.

Around 1:30 a.m. on July 18th, emergency crews rushed to the 900-block of Dufferin Avenue after getting reports of a residential fire. The London Fire Department managed to get the blaze under control, but here’s where things get interesting – they’ve deemed this fire “suspicious in nature.”

That suspicious designation means this isn’t just your average kitchen mishap or electrical issue. When fire officials can’t pinpoint an obvious accidental cause, they start looking at other possibilities, and that’s exactly what’s happening here.

The situation was serious enough that neighbouring homes had to be evacuated as a precaution while crews worked to contain the fire. Thankfully, nobody got hurt in the incident, which is definitely the most important outcome when dealing with any emergency situation like this.

Now that the flames are out, the London Police Service Street Crime Unit has taken over the investigation. They’re not working alone either – they’ve partnered up with the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office to dig deeper into what actually happened that night.

The damage estimate is still unknown, but investigators are now focused on piecing together the events leading up to the fire. This kind of collaboration between local police and provincial fire investigators typically happens when there are questions about whether a fire was intentionally set.

Police are casting a wide net for information about this incident. If you happened to be in the downtown area around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, they want to hear from you. Even if you didn’t see the fire itself, any observations about unusual activity in the neighbourhood could be helpful.

They’re particularly interested in any dash-cam footage, residential security cameras, or business surveillance that might have captured something relevant. With so many doorbell cameras and security systems these days, there’s a good chance someone’s device picked up something useful.

The investigation is being handled through the London Police Service’s official channels, and they’re encouraging anyone with information to come forward.

If you know something about this fire, you can contact the London Police Service directly at (519) 661-5670. For those who prefer to stay anonymous, Crime Stoppers is available at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), and you can also submit information online through London Middlesex Crime Stoppers.

The 900-block of Dufferin Avenue is right in the heart of downtown London, making this incident particularly noteworthy for anyone who frequents that area. With the Street Crime Unit now leading the investigation alongside provincial fire officials, this case is clearly being taken seriously by local authorities.