Manager, community concerned over attempted arson at N.B. bar

Charles Francis, manager at the Elsipogtog Sports Bar, smelled fumes when he got to work Friday morning. Soon after, he checked surveillance footage and realized people had attempted to set the building on fire.

When Charles Francis showed up for work Friday morning, he knew something wasn’t right.

The manager of the Elsipogtog Sports Bar, in Elsipogtog First Nation, could smell fumes, but wasn’t sure where they were coming from.

He decided to check the back lot and when he went outside he immediately noticed the fence was burnt.

“You know, I didn’t really expect the seriousness of the situation. It just looked like a really small fire. But what happened was, I went inside to check the camera footage and that’s when I saw the footage that really shocked me,” said Francis.

What he saw was a blue vehicle approaching the building around 4 a.m. that morning.

Three people wearing masks and hoods got out and two of them dumped fuel on the building and fence.

A third individual tossed a flare on the fuel creating a fireball.