A fire at a vacant house in east London that took nearly three dozen firefighters to extinguish appears to have been intentionally set.
Firefighters were called to the blaze at 254 Hamilton Road, just east of Adelaide Street just after 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Fire crews arrived to find the boarded-up, three-storey home in flames.
"We were getting various reports of people inside, but there was no one inside the building," said Platoon Chief Kirk Loveland. "Once crews determined there was no one inside they set up a defensive operation to make sure no firefighters were hurt in the fire. So we were fighting the fire from the exterior."
The blaze, which fire officials called "stubborn" was tricky to extinguish as flames had travelled into the walls and ceiling, and boards on the windows and doors made the structure hard to access. Roughly 34 firefighters and two aerial trucks were needed to fully douse the fire.
No injuries were reported.
Damage is estimated at $20,000. However, the latest fire damage coupled with that of previous fires at the location, has left the house in uninhabitable condition, said Loveland.
The fire was deemed suspicious in nature and a 61-year-old London man was arrested at the scene.
A day later, a charge of arson causing damage to property was laid against the man, London police said.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court in relation to the charge on Tuesday.
Anyone with information about this fire is asked to call police at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Update 2: crews switched to defensive attack - fighting fire from the outside. Overhaul operations underway. Based on construction age and debris load inside - this is a very stubborn fire. #ldnont @lpsmediaoffice @MLPS911 pic.twitter.com/te3J9twc3D
— London Fire Department (@LdnOntFire) October 25, 2021