Police charge Hamilton woman after fire razes historical downtown warehouse

Hamilton police have charged a Hamilton woman with arson following an enormous fire that gutted a historical downtown warehouse last weekend.

The 42-year-old woman lives in Hamilton but has no fixed address, according to police. She faces charges of arson, and break and enter with intent to commit an offence.

At least 45 firefighters battled the raging conflagration at the former Hamilton Store Fixtures on King Street West for hours Saturday, only to see most of the vacant four-storey building crumble into rubble.

The collapsing 114-year-old warehouse also damaged a neighbouring A&W restaurant - and floating embers from the wreckage even briefly set ablaze a 24th-floor condo balcony nearby. No one was injured in either fire.

Const. Indy Bharaj, police spokesperson, credited witnesses for helping police quickly track down a potential suspect on the day of the fire.

Witnesses reported seeing a person jumping out of the building while it was on fire," he said. Based on those descriptions, police were able to locate a female on the rooftop of Jackson Square (mall)."

Bharaj said police are still trying to determine exactly how or why the fire started.

Police earlier labelled the fire suspicious" and arson investigators are handling the probe, but the Ontario fire marshal's office is not involved. Police are asking anyone with information to call 905-540-5085 or submit tips anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The fire-razed building at the corner of King and Caroline streets was already slated for demolition.

Toronto-based developer Vernon Shaw plans to build a 13-storey, 122-unit condo tower dubbed Radio Arts" at the site, a nod to the building past life as a radio station.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com