London woman, 35, charged with arson in suspicious Simcoe Street blaze: fire officials

UPDATE: London police say the suspect in this matter was arrested Friday morning. They’re in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

London police are on the lookout for a 35-year-old woman wanted for arson in connection with a suspicious fire Tuesday morning at a Simcoe Street apartment tower that left $50,000 in damage.

Emergency crews responded to the scene at 241 Simcoe St. just south of the downtown core, around 10 a.m. for a report of a fire in a unit on the building’s eighth floor.

Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly and search the unit, said Platoon Chief Kirk Loveland. No one was found inside at the time.

Damage to the apartment itself was substantial and the fire was contained to the unit, he said.

“We (didn’t) declare the fire under control for a while because we’re still dealing with smoke conditions,” he said. “So we were on scene for a while, but the fire was knocked down fairly early into the operations.”

Occupants of the 12-storey tower, operated by London and Middlesex Community Housing, were evacuated as fire crews worked, but were later allowed back in.

Police say they have issued an arrest warrant for a 35-year-old Londoner on a charge of arson with disregard for human life. She is also being sought for a charge of possession of property obtained by crime.

Few other details have been released.