Early morning blaze that gutted Old East Village home suspicious, say London police

An overnight fire that caused extensive damage to a heritage home in London's Old East Village on Friday is being investigated as suspicious, London police said.

Emergency crews responded to 925 Dufferin Ave., located between Ontario and Quebec streets, around 1:30 a.m. and arrived to find a fully-engulfed two-storey home.

Fire crews initiated an aggressive attack, and managed to quickly knock down the bulk of the fire, fire officials said in a post on X. Primary and secondary searches of the home came up clear.

Neighbouring homes had to be evacuated as a precaution, but no injuries were reported, police said.

Fire officials estimate damage costs of at least $550,000.

By Friday afternoon, police had deemed the blaze suspicious, saying it was now under investigation by the London Police Services street crime unit and Ontario's Office of the Fire Marshal.

"If anyone was in the area at the time of the reported incident, or has dash-cam, residential or business surveillance footage that can assist with the investigation, they are asked to contact us," police said.