Two Vehicles Burned in Twenty-Nine Hours and the Same Spokesperson Used the Same Sentence Twice: Levis Police Say It Is Unlikely Either Fire Was Accidental, and Will Not Say Whether Either Is Tied to the Drug World (September 24, 2026)
The Service de police de la Ville de Levis was called to a burning vehicle on rue Alfred-Pellan at around six o’clock on Thursday morning, September 24, 2026. It was the second time in roughly twenty-nine hours the force had attended a vehicle fire on its own territory that it did not believe was an accident. Spokesperson Francois Fortin gave Ma Beauce the same formulation both times: based on the initial observations of the fire service and the police service, it is unlikely the fire was accidental in nature. Both files went to the Division des enquetes criminelles. Both scenes were protected for forensic examination. And in both cases the force declined, in identical terms, to say whether the fire had anything to do with the drug trade — a question the SPVL raised itself, in both statements, without answering.
Two fires, two streets, one force running out of coincidence
The first call came at about 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday, September 23, to rue J-A Vallee, where a vehicle was burning in the parking lot of an apartment block. Firefighters brought it under control quickly. The building beside the vehicle sustained light damage from the heat, tenants were evacuated, and nobody was injured. Because an accidental cause was judged unlikely, the file went to the SPVL’s criminal investigations division and forensic identification technicians attended a protected scene.
The second came at about 6 a.m. on Thursday, September 24, to rue Alfred-Pellan. A vehicle was damaged by a fire the force describes as of criminal origin. Same assessment, same division, same protected scene, same pending examination by the Service de l’identite judiciaire.
Ma Beauce reports the second fire as a “similar situation” to the first and as the second criminal vehicle fire in two days on Levis territory. What it does not report, because the force has not said it, is that the two are connected. The SPVL has drawn no link between them beyond proximity in time and place, and none is drawn here.
The question police keep asking themselves
The most revealing line in both accounts is the one police volunteer rather than the one they are asked. On Wednesday the SPVL said it was too early to know whether the event was tied to “le conflit dans le monde des stupefiants” — the conflict in the drug world. On Thursday it said it was too early to determine whether the event was linked to “le monde des stupefiants,” the drug world.
A police service does not reach for that frame unprompted unless it is on the list of things being considered. This is the same force that, one week earlier, publicly attributed a set of Saint-Romuald trafficking arrests to a named local drug conflict, as this site recorded on September 18. On that file the SPVL was willing to name the conflict. On these two fires it is not willing to say whether the conflict is involved, and that is where the record stops.
Nothing here establishes a connection between the September 16 searches and the September 23 and 24 fires. The force has asserted none. The point is narrower and it is about disclosure: the same service, in the same month, in the same city, has shown it will name a drug conflict when it is prepared to, and has twice declined to do so on a pair of burning vehicles.
What the record contains — and what it does not
- On the record, second fire (September 24): a vehicle damaged by a fire of criminal origin on rue Alfred-Pellan in Levis on Thursday morning; the SPVL called at around 6 a.m.; the spokesperson, Francois Fortin, and his statement that on initial observations by the fire and police services it is unlikely the fire was accidental; carriage by the SPVL Division des enquetes criminelles; the scene protected; an examination by the Service de l’identite judiciaire to be carried out; that it is the second criminal vehicle fire in two days on Levis territory; that no suspect has been identified; and that it is too early to determine whether the event is linked to the drug world.
- On the record, first fire (September 23): the location, the parking lot of an apartment block on rue J-A Vallee; emergency services called at around 12:50 a.m.; the fire quickly brought under control; light heat damage to the adjacent building; tenants evacuated; nobody injured; accidental cause judged unlikely; the file transferred to criminal investigations; forensic identification technicians attending a protected scene; no suspect apprehended; and the same too-early formulation about the drug-world conflict.
- Not on the record, either fire: any file, dossier or occurrence number; the make, model, year or ownership of either vehicle; whether either vehicle is linked to any person of interest; a civic address for either fire; a damage estimate for either; any accelerant finding; the name of the fire service or any fire official; whether either fire was reported by a 911 caller, a tenant or a patrol; any arrest, charge, suspect or suspect description; any court date; and whether the SPVL considers the two fires connected.
- No police release: no SPVL news release on either fire has been located. The City of Levis does not publish a police release wire that carries these items, and the reporting is built on spokesperson comment to Ma Beauce. The outlet account is the whole of the public record in both cases.
- Named organization: none. The SPVL has named no criminal organization, street gang or outlaw motorcycle club in connection with either fire, and none is named here. The drug-world reference in both statements is the force’s own open question, not an attribution.
Timeline
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026, approximately 12:50 a.m.Emergency services are called to the parking lot of an apartment block on rue J-A Vallee, Levis, for a burning vehicle. The fire is brought under control quickly. The building beside the vehicle takes light damage from the heat. Tenants are evacuated. Nobody is injured.
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026, time not publishedAn accidental cause is judged unlikely and the SPVL Division des enquetes criminelles takes the file. The scene is protected and forensic identification technicians attend. No suspect is apprehended. Police say it is too early to know whether the event is tied to the conflict in the drug world.
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 10:11 a.m. EasternMa Beauce publishes the first fire, under Benjamin Aubert’s byline.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026, approximately 6 a.m.The SPVL is called to rue Alfred-Pellan, Levis, where a vehicle is damaged by fire. Spokesperson Francois Fortin says that on the initial observations of the fire and police services it is unlikely the fire was accidental in nature.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026, time not publishedThe Division des enquetes criminelles takes the second file. The scene is protected and an examination by the Service de l’identite judiciaire is to be carried out. No suspect has been identified and police say it is too early to determine whether the event is linked to the drug world.
- Thursday, September 24, 2026, 9:39 a.m. EasternMa Beauce publishes the second fire, again under Benjamin Aubert’s byline, and reports it as the second criminal vehicle fire in two days on Levis territory.
What a protected scene is for
Both accounts describe the same two procedural steps, and in Quebec they carry a specific meaning. Protecting a scene means the SPVL has excluded the public and preserved the vehicle and its surroundings for examination rather than clearing the debris and reopening the street. Handing it to the Service de l’identite judiciaire means forensic technicians, not patrol officers, will determine the point of origin and look for ignition evidence.
Neither step is taken on a car that burned because of a fuel line. Together they are the clearest indication in the public record of what the SPVL actually thinks happened on rue J-A Vallee and rue Alfred-Pellan, and they are as far as the force has been willing to go. No expertise result from either scene has been published, and the force has not said when one is expected.
Carriage of both files after accidental cause was judged unlikely
Forensic examination of both protected scenes; no result published
Attended both fires; contributed the initial observations cited by police
The only person quoted on either file; no release issued by the force
Sources
- Ma Beauce, “Un autre incendie criminel de vehicule a Levis,” by Benjamin Aubert, September 24, 2026, 9:39 a.m. Eastern — mabeauce.com
- Ma Beauce, “Incendie criminel de vehicule a Levis,” by Benjamin Aubert, September 23, 2026, 10:11 a.m. Eastern — mabeauce.com
- Gangland Files, September 18, 2026 briefing on the SPVL Saint-Romuald searches and the conflit de la redevance — ganglandfiles.com
No one has been arrested or charged in connection with either fire and nothing in either file has been tested in court. The Service de police de la Ville de Levis has said only that an accidental cause is unlikely; no arson finding has been published and none is asserted here. Police have expressly said it is too early to determine whether either event is linked to the drug world, and this briefing makes no such link. The SPVL has not said the two fires are connected to each other, and no connection is asserted here. The reference to the September 16 Saint-Romuald searches is included to show what this force discloses when it is prepared to name a drug conflict; police have drawn no connection between that file and these fires, and none is drawn here. No criminal organization, street gang or outlaw motorcycle club has been named by police in either file and none is named here.
