The lead investigator into the cause of a fire that burned a house down in Dauphin in 2013 says his conclusion is the fire was incendiary, and caused by direct flame.
The fire investigator was called as a witness yesterday in the trial for 27-year-old Sean Nepinak and 25-year-old Seamus Nepinak.
The two men are accused of starting a fire in August 2013. The fire caused severe, permanent burn injuries to a then-17-year-old.
The witness told court it's probable the fire started in a storage cabinet, and was caused by direct flame. He said the pattern left by the fire and the angle of char on the remains of the cabinet led him to his conclusion it started inside the cabinet. He also said it was his opinion the fire was intentionally set.
The defence questioned the certainty of such an assessment, arguing it would be impossible to know if someone intentionally or accidentally set the fire, or what condition they were in at the time and if they even knew the fire had started.
The investigator agreed he can't know a person's intent, but said there's a greater than 50 per cent chance the fire was incendiary.
Sean and Seamus Nepinak are facing four counts of arson and one count of participating in the activities of a criminal organization. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The trial continues.
