Another Rideau Street fire, this time it may be arson, Kingston police say

Kingston police say a house fire on Rideau Street is now being investigated as an act of arson. With several fires and drug busts taking place at this same location over the last several years, nearby neighbours and people in Kingston are wondering: what is going on in these homes?

Not many details have been given about the investigation, but police say an examination of the scene concluded Tuesday.

The fire began early Tuesday, displacing four tenants of the semi-detached home, which is being used as an apartment building.

The address, 275 Rideau St., and the adjoining home are no stranger to police officers and firefighters.

“It’s been a bit of a troubled house, that entire structure,” said Zach Colbert, who has lived across the street for 17 years.

Colbert said he sees lots of traffic in and out of the home all through the night, with “people banging on the door.”

He said after many years of living just across the street, he’d like to know what exactly is happening.

“Everybody’s in a little bit of trouble there. It’s like most of them have kind of lost their way, which can happen to anybody, but it just seems to happen there,” Colbert said.

Several other neighbours spoke to Global News but refused to give their names, saying they, too, have been concerned about the repeated fires and police presence at the Rideau Street residence.

There have been several fires at this location over the last few years, including a large fire in 2019 that displaced more than 10 people. Just a month before that, Kingston police executed a search warrant at the home, where fentanyl and firearms were seized.

Kingston police said they would be working on trying to get the number of calls for service to that location over the last several years, but did not have that information on hand.

“Although there have been incidents in the past, given the transient nature of the tenants and those who frequent those addresses, it is difficult to say they are all related,” said Anthony Colangeli, media relations officer with the Kingston police.