EXCLUSIVE: Condo board pres. believes he was target of arson over fees dispute

The president of a Toronto condo board is in hiding with his wife after they narrowly escaped what they believe was an arson motivated by a dispute over condos fees.

The fire broke out on the first floor of a townhouse on Grandravine Drive near Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Mark Lowes and his wife were sleeping in the unit at the time. Lowes said he awoke when he heard glass breaking. He believes some time of fire bomb was thrown through the kitchen window. An investigation is ongoing, but so far the case has not been deemed an arson.

Lowes, who has an artificial leg, was in hospital for several days suffering from smoke inhalation.

Residents were recently told that as of Oct 1, their hydro would no longer be covered by their monthly maintenance fee – sparking some outage in the complex.

Lowes believes it may have been a motive in the fire.

“It’s escalated to a ridiculous amount of level of hatred and I don’t know why they’re like that because things are being straightened out,” he said.

The couple is now staying at a secret location. “No one knows where we are, and they won’t know,” Lowes said.

A homeowners’ meeting was held in the community centre across the street just a couple of weeks before the fire, and residents say it became aggressive at times.

Lowes says the vast majority of people in the complex are supportive neighbours and he’s asking them to speak out if they know anything.

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