Fire that destroyed former Kingsclear reformatory house deemed 'suspicious'
A fire that tore through a former Kingsclear Reformatory building this week has been deemed "suspicious."
"The investigation has been completed," said Alexandra Davis, spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety.
"The cause of the fire remains undetermined but is suspicious in nature."
Murray Crouse, fire chief with the Upper Kingsclear Fire Department, said the fire broke out at the abandoned three-storey house outside Fredericton, shortly before 11 p.m. on Wednesday.
When firefighters arrived on scene, flames were bursting through the roof, Crouse said.
"There seemed to be fire throughout all the floors," he said.
About 40 firefighters battled the blaze for about five hours. Fire crews from New Maryland and Keswick Ridge were also there. There were no injuries.
"The old house has been damaged a lot inside so we didn't dare do an interior attack," he said. "Everything was done from the outside," Crouse said.
Firefighters returned Thursday afternoon to monitor hotspots and get the remains of the building torn down with an excavator.
Kingclear hasn't been used as a youth detention centre since the mid-1990s.
