Video obtained by CTV News Toronto shows the moment two people set a restaurant ablaze at a Scarborough strip mall early Saturday morning.
In the surveillance video, a car arrives in the parking lot of the strip mall located on Kennedy Road, north of Lawrence Avenue East.
Two people, one holding what appears to be a red canister and the other carrying some kind of metal bar, get out of the car and walk towards an establishment.
After breaking the front door using the bar, the two enter the store and stay inside for approximately 30 seconds.
When they get out, one person lights a fire and throws it through the door. The front of the restaurant goes up in flames quickly.
The two suspects return to the car and drive away as flames and thick black smoke shoot out of the restaurant.
Emergency crews received the fire call at around 3:30 a.m.
Speaking to CP24 at the scene, Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Paul Versace said crews responded at around 3:30 a.m. following reports of a “fire inside a store.”
When crews arrived, Versace said they found a heavy blaze inside Bisi Bisi, an Indian restaurant, and quickly called for a “second alarm.”
“We had some issues with crews on the roof and the roof was compromised, so we had to go from an offensive to a defensive strategy,” he said, adding that the roof of the building later caved in.
No injuries have been reported, and officials confirmed the main body of the fire has been knocked down.
This incident marks the second consecutive restaurant fire in recent days, after a similar occurrence in the area early Friday morning.
Rajeev Goud told CTV News Toronto that both restaurants are owned by the same company.
“I don’t know what happened. But whatever happened is not good for anyone,” said Goud, who works for the company.
When asked who could have done the fires, Goud said, “We don’t (know). We can’t guess.”
Officials have not commented on whether the two are related.
Police have said the May 23 fire is being investigated as suspected arson and three suspects are being sought.
t’s unclear if there will be an investigation by the OFM (Office of the Fire Marshal in Ontario) into Saturday’s fire, but Versace notes he did notify investigators.
“We’re going to be on scene most of the day given that (the building) collapsed and it’s just smouldering,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to come forward. There are no road closures in the area.