Suspected arsonist hospitalized with burns

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Canadian police in Nova Scotia suspect a Sydney man with days-old untreated second- and third-degree burns might be an arsonist.

The unidentified 23-year-old was in a Halifax hospital Wednesday in serious condition with serious burns over 40 percent his body, The (Halifax) Chronicle-Herald reported.

He was transferred there from Sydney on Monday after paramedics responded to an emergency call to his apartment and found him in severe pain with burns that appeared to be days old, police said.

There were at least five suspicious fires in Sydney last week, including one in which a witness said a man with apparent injuries was seen running from the scene after an explosion. No one was injured in the fires.

Sydney Police Staff Sgt. John O'Rourke said the man hadn't been questioned about how he got burned.

"He's a person of interest in the arsons," O'Rourke said. "We are concerned for his health."