Downtown fire was arson: police

A fire that caused more than $1 million damage to a commercial building in downtown Ottawa this week was deliberately set, Ottawa police said Wednesday.

The fire broke out early Monday morning on the second and fourth floors of the four-storey building on the northeast corner of Bank and Somerset streets and was extinguished by about 70 firefighters.

The damage is estimated at between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.