Community plans meeting to discuss spate of fires

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This article was published 27/07/2011 (5541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – A community meeting is planned to help residents deal with a rash of arsons recently in the Crescentwood and Fort Rouge areas of the city.

“I would like to let you know that I am organizing, along with the Earl Grey Neighborhood Safety Association, a community meeting on crime prevention,” said City Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 10  at the Earl Grey Community Centre.

“We have invited the Winnipeg Police Service and members of the arson task force. The idea is to provide info on what people can do to prevent Arson and other crimes and also to update the community on how the police are tackling the issues,” Gerbasi said.

One woman narrowly escaped with her life from a fire that spread to her home in the 800 block of Hector Avenue overnight Monday. Her pets perished in the blaze.

Area residents say they can’t sleep at night and fear for their safety in the wake of more than a dozen garage fires within the last three months in a 10-block radius from Mulvey Avenue north to Hector Avenue and from Pembina Highway west to Grant Park Plaza.

Some residents are calling for regular sweeps by the Winnipeg Police helicopter and others are calling for cruisers to mount nightly patrols.