Firefighters battled a house fire at a rooming house on St. Andrew Street, December 19, 2018. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)Firefighters battled a house fire at a rooming house on St. Andrew Street, December 19, 2018. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

Charges laid in rooming house fire

Days after tenants were forced to jump from the roof of a burning rooming house in the Blackfriars area, London police say a man is charged with starting the fire.

Firefighters were called to a two-storey rooming house at 15 St. Andrew St., south of Oxford Street around 9am on Wednesday, December 19 after fire had trapped several people on the roof. The people on the roof jumped to safety before firefighters were able to reach them. Two of them were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. It is believed between eight to ten people were living in the home.

Police were quick to call the fire suspicious in nature.

On Thursday, police announced that Drew Pearson, 29, is charged with arson causing bodily harm, arson with disregard for human life, and arson causing property damage.

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