The cause of an early morning fire at a historic building in London’s downtown core Monday remains under investigation, but investigators say they are probing the blaze as suspicious.
Firefighters arrived at 435 Ridout St., on the corner of Queens Avenue, around 4:50 a.m. Monday and discovered fire on both floors of the building and in the basement
Nobody was inside the building at the time, and no firefighters were hurt while battling the blaze, Fitzgerald explained.
Crews used an aerial ladder to reach the upper floors of the building, and around 7 a.m. were just extinguishing the last of the hots spots in the attic. The windows of the building were smashed, and broken glass was strewn about the front lawn.
“This is a historically sensitive building. It was built in the 1850s, this is London’s ‘Bankers Row,'” said Fitzgerald, referring to the nickname of London’s first financial district. Home to a number of law offices now, 435 Ridout St. is historically significant as the former home of the Bank of Upper Canada until 1865.
In 1966, 435, 441-447, and 451 Ridout St. were designated “The Ridout Street Complex National Historic Site of Canada.
“There’s heavy smoke and fire damage to the interior,” said Fitzgerald.
“It’s going to cost a lot of money,” said platoon chief Andy Britton of the expected damage cost.
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