Winnipeg police say an arson suspect has turned himself in following two fires last week.
Officers say a man poured a container of gasoline over the interior of his own residence in the 200 block of Pritchard Avenue on Friday afternoon and lit the fuel, creating an explosion with enough force to throw him outside.
The fire then spread to a neighbouring residence. The occupants fled the building and the fire department was called in to fight the blaze.
Despite being blown out of the residence by the explosion, police say the man was uninjured and fled the area, soon arriving at a nearby convenience store to buy more gasoline.
About an hour and a half after the first fire, officers say the man made his way to an office building in the 300 block of Donald Street.
Here, police say he poured gasoline inside the lobby before lighting it on fire.
Const. Claude Chancey, public information officer with the Winnipeg Police Service, says employees were in the office building at the time of the second fire. They safely escaped the flames and no injuries were reported.
The residence was deemed a total loss after the fire, while the office building lobby sustained significant damage.
Shortly after the second fire, police say 49-year-old Jonathan Roger Hein surrendered to officers at the Winnipeg police headquarters.
Chancey said suspects in these types of investigations don’t normally surrender to police and that he’s glad it happened this time.
“It’s fairly uncommon (for someone to turn themself in). Of course, we don’t know the motive and reasoning why (the suspect did what they did). However, we are fortunate that he was able to turn himself in and had the presence of mind to do that so that no other people were placed in danger.”
The Major Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation and Hein has been charged with two counts of disregard for human life and two counts of arson causing damage to property.
He was detained in police custody, but Chancey says Hein is not believed to be involved in any other fires.
“In light of other possible arsons that have happened in and around the city, Hein is not a suspect for any of those,” Chancey said.