"Prolific offender" charged after St. Thomas fire destroys new housing and retail building

A St. Thomas man who police call a "prolific offender" has been charged after a fire on Sunday morning left the owner of a new downtown building earmarked for housing and retail space with nothing. 

The building located in the 600-block of Talbot Street in St. Thomas was under construction, nearing completion, when it caught fire at around 4 a.m. and burned well into the morning.

More than 20 city firefighters were called to the scene, with aerial water trucks setup to tackle the fire. 

Police were quick to call the fire arson, posting the message on social media around 11 a.m., adding there were no injuries.

As a result of the investigation, police said Sunday evening that a 44-year-old suspect had been arrested in the case. 

"The accused was captured on security video breaching a door and entering a vacant building," police said in a media release. "He was then seen leaving and re-entering the structure before finally leaving the area, walking westbound down Talbot Street." 

The suspect has been charged with arson, fail to comply with probation order and possession of a schedule 1 substance. He is well-known to police and currently has 13 charges before the courts. He was been remanded into custody. 

The non-profit housing organization, Indwell, has apartments adjacent to the building. In a statement, regional director Jessica Brand said all staff and residents were unharmed. 

The St. Thomas bus depot is also located next to the site of the fire. The city said Sunday that service was cancelled until further notice. 

On Sunday afternoon, Talbot Street remained closed between Ross Street and Princess Avenue.