Man faces arson charges after 4 fires doused across downtown Barrie

One Barrie man is facing multiple charges of arson after a string of fires were set in downtown Barrie on Sunday night.

On Sunday at around 10:26 p.m., an officer passing by St. Andrews Presbyterian Church at 47 Owen St. saw Barrie Fire and Emergency Services at the scene of an active fire at the rear of the church.

Additional officers helped by providing traffic-related assistance while the fire was being extinguished.

A second fire was reported around 11:08 p.m. in the stairwell of a parking lot at 90 Collier St.

Then at 11:36 p.m., an emergency service responded to a call about garbage cans that were on fire between 27-29 Dunlop St. W.

The third fire was put out by local business owners who used fire extinguishers, but the damage to the garbage cans was significant.

During this rash of fires, Barrie Police started to look for a suspect they had identified.

While looking for that suspect, police say a fourth fire, involving a pile of discarded garbage bags near 101 Dunlop St. W., was found just before midnight and extinguished by police.

Around 12:42 a.m., Barrie Police found the suspect. A 37-year-old Barrie man, of no fixed address, was charged with three counts of arson and failing to comply with a probation order.

He was held in custody and appeared by video for a bail hearing on Monday.