Airdrie man accused of setting his house on fire twice charged with arson, fraud

An Airdrie man set his own house on fire on two occasions last year to try to collect an insurance payout, RCMP allege.

Crews put out a fire at a house on Silver Springs Way on April 13, 2016 and then again on Dec. 31 the same year, RCMP said in a release.

"The fire was deemed suspicious due to incendiary material being located within the structure," RCMP said.

An investigation by the AirdrieFire Department and RCMP turned up evidence the homeownerShaun Lee Sandbach, 35, had intentionally set the fires, officials said.

He is also accused of falsely claiming on Nov. 6, 2015 that his vehicle was stolen while he was held at gunpoint, RCMP said.

Sandbach is charged with two counts of arson for a fraudulent purpose, two counts of possession of incendiary material and three counts of fraud over $5,000, "and false pretences due his alleged purchasing of the material to burn his own property and attempting to have insurance cover the cost of the fire."

He is set to appear in provincial court in Airdrie on June 1.

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