Video shows Ontario tow truck set on fire with driver still inside

In an appeal for the public's help, Ontario police have released some terrifying footage that shows the moment a local tow truck driver narrowly escaped death after his vehicle was deliberately set on fire.

The incident took place in a parking lot in Richmond Hill in the wee hours of Thursday, and is one of countless incidents of violence perpetrated against members of the province's tow truck industry in the last few years.

The nearly minute-long security clip shared by York Regional Police over the weekend shows two hooded figures emerge from a dark blue four-door sedan and sneak up to two white GMC tow trucks that were parked next to one another at a plaza near Major Mackenzie Drive East and Leslie Street.

One of the suspects can then be seen pouring a bottle of flammable liquid onto the front of one vehicle (into the cowl panel specifically) while the other perp, who was also carrying a bottle, goes out of frame toward the other truck.

Officers note in a press release that the one truck was fully engulfed in flames while the other one "was also doused in a liquid but did not ignite."

Both had their drivers still inside at the time, perhaps getting some shut eye as it was 5 a.m.

As seen in the video, one driver was able to pull away before the fire spread, while the other managed to open his door and escape — somehow without injury — nearly 20 seconds after his truck was set alight.

"The fire quickly spread and caused damage to a nearby business," the force notes, asking for any witnesses, anyone with additional video footage, or anyone who recognizes the individuals or car pictured to come forward.

It is unclear if this latest crime was a part of this infamous and even fatal  tow truck turf war over business, but York Regional Police say the investigation is ongoing.