26-year-old charged with arson after December apartment building fire

Tony Thomas' apartment complex in Walkerton, Ont. caught fire on Dec. 1, 2022. (Source: Tony Thomas)

OPP have laid an arson charge against a 26-year-old man after he allegedly set a fire at an apartment complex in Walkerton, Ont. last month, which resulted in the displacement of the building’s residents.

According to a press release from South Bruce OPP, at 1:05 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2022, police received a report of a fire located on John Street in Walkerton.

Upon arrival of police, fire crews and EMS, first responders found an apartment building “fully engulfed” by fire.

As CTV News London first reported last month, the fire originally started in a second storey unit of the Bruce County community housing complex.

Many of the building’s residents had to be rescued by fire crews due to heavy smoke.

One person was treated for smoke inhalation, but according to OPP no serious injuries were reported as a result of the blaze.

Fire damage was contained to the one apartment, but there was heavy smoke damage on the entire second floor, which resulted in residents being displaced ahead of Christmas. Emergency responders worked to help evacuate residents and assisted them in finding shelter.

In an interview with CTV News London, Walkerton Fire Chief Chris Wells said the fire could have been much worse were it not for working smoke alarms.

“That’s really the reason nobody’s injured, is because people had that early warning to get out of the building,” said Wells.

An investigation into the cause of the blaze was conducted by South Bruce OPP, the South Bruce OPP Crime Unit, the OPP Forensic Identification Unit and the Office of the Fire Marshal.

As a result of the investigation, a 26-year-old man from the Municipality of Brockton was charged with arson – disregard for human life for his alleged role.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in relation to the charge.

— With files from CTV News London’s Scott Miller