Police remove suspected pipe bomb from Brampton church

Alexandra Posadzki Globe and Mail Update Published Tuesday, May. 29, 2012 11:45AM EDT Last updated Tuesday, May. 29, 2012 1:50PM EDT

Police have removed what they believe to be a pipe bomb from a Brampton church after a suspicious fire broke out at the building early Tuesday morning.

Investigators are also trying to determine if the fire is linked to another blaze that destroyed three units of an under-construction townhouse complex nearby.

A blaze broke out at St. Jeromes Parish, a Roman Catholic church on Chinguacousy Road, shortly before 5 a.m.

What [police] suspect is that there was a pipe bomb or something thrown into the building, said Mariam Mesbah, a spokesperson for the city of Brampton. They think what happened was the sprinkler system went off and sort of kept it at bay.

The blaze was discovered by a maintenance worker who had arrived to clean the church.

When Bramptons firefighters arrived on scene, the fire had already been extinguished by the churchs sprinkler system.

It really was a smoke fire, said Ms. Mesbah. There was more smoke there than actual flames.

When firefighters spotted a suspicious package lying on the floor, they left the church and called police.

The explosives unit of Peel police arrived and sent a robot into the building. The robot located what police believe to be a pipe bomb, although they say it may be a fake.

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Police remove suspected pipe bomb from Brampton church