In Timmins, police have arrested a local man and charged him with arson following a fire and an altercation Monday.
The incident is contributing to what police are calling a modest upward trend in violent crime.
Police in Timmins have had a busy summer and Monday evening's fire at the corner of Balsam and First was no accident.
Officers have labeled it arson.
Marc Depatie is the community liaison officer for Timmins Police Service.
"In the course of the investigation that stemmed from this event, a subject was identified as a person of interest. That person was located, arrested, and is now before the courts charged with arson and disregard for human life." said Depatie.
Police say the 27-year-old Timmins man is also facing charges including assault with a weapon, stemming from an incident following the fire.
It's the latest in a long line of violent incidents being handled by police
"There has been a modest increase in the number of calls for service, in terms of violence and physical altercations." said Depatie.
The increase is keeping officers busy and victim’s services leaning on volunteers.
Melissa Turcotte is the Executive Director of Timmins Victim Services.
"We're trying to utilize our volunteer base more and more. At one point, they certainly dwindled and we struggled to try and fill some of those calls, but now we're starting to build on our core base for volunteers." said Turcotte.
Turcotte says victim services are always in need of volunteers to help counsel victims, urging people to reach out and give back.
