TORONTO – A 53-year-old Toronto man has been arrested in connection to the arson of a heritage building at Yonge and Gould Street back on January 3, 2011.
The six-alarm blaze gutted the historic brick building next to the Ryerson University campus where two firefighters were injured.
Toronto Police identified the suspect as Stewart Poirier, who was also charged for a second arson at a social housing building where he was living at 123 Sackville Street on July 12, 2012.
The arrest was made the following day while the accused was being investigated on an unrelated matter.
Get breaking National news
“Evidence indicates the arson was a deliberate act, calculated and an amount of planning was involved,” said 51 Division Inspector Gary Meissner during an afternoon press conference.
Poirier has been charged with two counts of arson for damage to property, two counts of arson for disregard for human life, two of mischief endangering life, attempted murder and two counts of failing to comply with probation.
Police say the accused may also be responsible for other fires in the downtown area.
“He’s an individual under investigation and we’re reviewing other instances with the fire department and fire marshal’s office,” said Inspector Meissner.
Days following the Yonge St. fire, police released a surveillance image of a ‘person of interest’ obtained from a local business owner near the scene.
Police along with Toronto’s fire department and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office deemed the cause of the fire as arson.
The building prompted headlines in April 2010 when part of its facade collapsed onto the sidewalk. No one was hurt in the incident.
The accused remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, July 19.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.