THUNDER BAY -- A man arrested Thursday night at the scene of a Thistle Crescent fire is now facing arson charges.
Christopher Kowalczyk, 28, appeared in court on Friday morning and has been remanded to the Thunder Bay District Jail.
Kowalczyk was a resident in the home and was taken into custody following an initial investigation, led away in handcuffs.
No one was hurt in the two-alarm blaze, and a family dog was rescued, said platoon chief Dan Hyvarinen, adding the investigation is ongoing as to the cause.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if it was too soon to know the reason behind the fire.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue got the call at approximately 7 p.m.
“There were several reports of the fire and when (we) showed up on the scene the garage portion was fully involved and smoke had seemed to have migrated through the rest of the building,” Hyvarinen said.
“The initial knockdown was from the outside and searchers confirmed there was nobody in the building. We just continued to act until we had the fire knocked down.”
The joint investigation with Thunder Bay Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office continues.
