Sunday, March 17, 2013 3:27:38 EDT PM
St. Catharines Standard:

The St. Catharines Fire Department is treating as suspicious a Saturday fire at a building on the corner of Lake and Queen Sts. in the city’s downtown.
Emergency crews were called to the 9:23 p.m. blaze that appeared to start in the exterior porch area of the empty structure at 73 Queen St.
The blaze, which spread into a rear-roof area, was soon under control by St. Catharines firefighters and there were no injuries.
“It appears it was an exterior fire, then worked up the walls and up into the roof area,” said St. Catharines fire chief Mark Mehlenbacher.
“Obviously there’s concern as the fire started on the exterior ... that’s very unusual,” he said of the building, which was under renovation. “Right now we’re treating it as suspicious and will be investigated by St. Catharines fire prevention and Niagara Regional Police.”
Mehlenbacher said the fire is estimated to have caused between $50,000 to $75,000, but damage to the interior was not extensive.
He said adjacent structures were not damaged.