Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal will assist in determining the cause of a fire at a vacant rooming house in Peterborough, Ont., on Tuesday night.
According to Peterborough Fire Service platoon chief Don Broersma, around 8:15 p.m., there were multiple calls regarding a structure fire on Water Street.
Crews found smoke billowing from a vacant, boarded-up rooming house, he said.
Broersma said crews performed a defensive attack from the exterior of the building.
“Multiple crews attacked the fire from all four sides as well as from above through aerial operations,” he said.
Water Street was closed to traffic between McDonnel and London streets as crews fought the blaze. The roadway reopened several hours later.
Crews remained at the scene overnight dousing hot spots in the crevices of the attic area, he said.
The Peterborough Police Service deployed its remotely piloted aircraft system to assist firefighters to identify hot spots.
Broersma says police and the Office of the Fire Marshal have been called in to investigate the cause of the blaze.
Police are treating the fire as suspicious.
Damage is estimated at $200,000, he said.
The same rooming house was damaged by a fire on March 31, 2019.
Tuesday’s fire is the latest in several days following Saturday’s fire at a vape store that has been deemed arson and a suspicious fire at a townhouse on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, police said there was no reason to believe the incidents over the past week are connected.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 705-876-1122 ext. 555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.
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