Man charged with arson after apartment fire displaces Verdun family; police response questioned

A Verdun resident is homeless and speaking out after a fire forced him and his family from their home. He says police could have de-escalated the situation bett

Since Friday, Justin Von Bornhoft, along with his partner and three children, have been living in a hotel.

Just after 3 p.m. on Friday, they were rushed from their home after police alerted them to a fire in their neighbour’s apartment on Moffat Street in Verdun.

“You kind of just watch your place go up in flames and smoke and not sure what’s going on,” Von Bornhoft said.

Montreal police say they were called to the scene around 1:15 p.m. because a man was in crisis.

Police allege the man then set fire to his apartment two hours later. The man has since been charged with arson.

Living next door to that apartment, Von Bornhoft says his home was damaged by smoke and water.

“The realization that you’re not going back to your place anymore, like having to think like, where you slept the night before, you’ll never sleep again. That was a hard one,” he said.

He’s speaking out because he thinks police could have handled the intervention differently.

Von Bornhoft says officers did not appear to de-escalate the situation.

“When the police are actively on their bullhorn, taunting this man, and then they look at each other and start giggling. That’s not an act of professionalism,” Von Bornhoft said. “When you look back, hindsight 20/20, you say this could have been easily de-escalated.”

One of Von Bornhoft’s neighbours, who did not want to appear on camera, told CTV News that he agrees with Von Bornhoft.

In a statement, Montreal police said: “As a general rule, we never comment on specific cases or police operations […] We also generally refrain from commenting on ongoing investigations so as not to interfere with their progress.”

Von Bornhoft and his family have tenant insurance, but they still have to find a new place to call home.

“We’re an ultimate victim in all of this. When we really didn’t contribute to anything negative,” Von Bornhoft said.

“Now, we are left out and we don’t have any belongings for months, unknown. We don’t have any place right now. We’re living in a hotel, literally five people in a one-room.”