Waterford Manor fire 'suspicious,' Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says

Thursday evening's fire at a heritage building in the west end of St. John's is considered a suspicious incident, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says.

Const. Geoffrey Higdon said Friday that investigators are treating the fire at the Waterford Manor bed and breakfast in in St. John's as a suspicious fire.

• Explosions, fire at St. John's bed and breakfast

Firefighters spent hours on the blaze on Waterford Bridge Road, clearing the scene early Friday morning after an explosion and fire on the top floor of the heritage building was reported at about 6 p.m. Thursday.

Traffic was halted near the 110-year-old building around 6:30 a.m. Friday, after the St. John's Regional Fire Department finally left the scene.

Police confirmed no one was injured in the fire.

Three people were displaced by the fire, according to a release from the Canadian Red Cross.

A father and son who lived in a basement apartment have been provided with emergency lodging, food and clothing.

The building's manager, who lived in the manor, has also been displaced. The Red Cross said she is staying with a relative.

'A lot of aggressive work' for fire crews

Deputy Fire Chief Don Byrne said between 40 and 45 firefighters battled the blaze over a 12.5-hour period. RNC investigators were leaving the building early Friday afternoon.

Byrne said the building presented particular challenges for emergency crews.

"With a structure such as that, it has no attic space, most of the fire was concentrated in the back part of the roof. There was only one way to get at it and that was to open it up to gain access to the void and concealed spaces," he said.

"When you get a structure of that age, there's been a lot of renovations, a lot of concealed spaces. It entails a lot of aggressive work, with hand tools and mechanical tools."

The building's sprinkler system was activated by the fire, but Byrne said "no sprinkler system" would have been equipped to douse this kind of fire.

He added there is considerable damage to the roof and back area of the home, as well as significant water damage.

Byrne said "it is possible" the manor could be saved, but he's not the one to make that assessment.

The cause of the fire and explosion is still unknown.

Fire crews were hopeful the 110-year-old house at 185 Waterford Bridge Rd. could be salvaged, but Nas Badrudin, whose family owns the building, said that's an ambitious estimate.