Peterborough police are investigating after a suspicious fire at a vacant former rooming house on Water Street on Tuesday night (March 5).
At around 8:14 p.m. on Tuesday, Peterborough Fire Services received multiple calls about a fire at the boarded-up building at 557-559 Water Street on the southwest corner of Water and London streets.
Multiple fire crews attacked the fire from all four sides, as well as from above using a remotely piloted aircraft system. By 2 a.m., the fire was out although a fire crew remained on the scene knocking down hot spots in the crevices of the attic area.
Peterborough Fire Services estimates the damage to the building, which is listed as a heritage property, at $200,000.
Water Street between London and McDonnel streets was closed for around three-and-a-half hours. Police say the Ontario Fire Marshal is expected at the scene on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.
Previously used as a rooming house, the three-storey 12-unit building was boarded up after being gutted by a fire in 2019. Prior to that, it had been the scene of multiple police investigations over several years, including for a shooting and a stabbing.
