The owners of a family business in Milford, N.S., are looking for answers nearly one month after a suspected arson resulted in thousands of dollars worth in damage. Kim Whalen says she was getting ready for bed around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 when she heard a car alarm go off. “I thought maybe somebody was rummaging through cars, so I looked out my window and I saw the truck fully engulfed in fire. I thought because the cars had just been serviced, that maybe something spontaneous had happened because of that.” Security footage showed a man dousing her family’s personal and work vehicles with an unidentified accelerant before setting it on fire. “I don’t even know how to describe it because it’s the biggest violation you could probably have,” she says. Whalen believes the suspect had plans to burn down her father’s electrical shop, Wayne Whalen Electrical, located just behind the family home. “(It) makes no sense. There’s no money owed to anybody. Nobody owes them money. There’s no disgruntled clients. There’s no former employees,” she says. “My father started this business 35 years ago. It’s his pride and joy. It’s well respected. It’s well-known in the community. They do mostly small jobs.” Though the suspect was unsuccessful, she says damage to their vehicles and some repair tools will cost them thousands. Nova Scotia RCMP declined a request for an interview, but confirm the fire was deliberate. Cpl. Carlie McCann, public information officer, tells CTV News Atlantic the investigators have “seized evidence for analysis and are seeking further surveillance video footage from the area.” Whalen says it’s been a slow process to get answers. “Police were here that night and took a couple statements and then slowly over the next week they did door canvasing. But as far as giving us information, it’s been pretty slow.” She adds that multiple witnesses reported seeing a person fleeing the scene on an e-bike that night, though that is yet to be confirmed by police. “We are not sleeping well. Our neighbors are not sleeping well. We are afraid. What if this is targeted and if this person comes back, you know? We just want to know why this person would do that to us. This is a very small business,” says Whalen. RCMP is asking anyone who saw any suspicious vehicles or persons in that area or has any other information that will support the investigation to contact them. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
