Man charged with arson after 197-unit Hamilton apartment building set ablaze

A Hamilton man has been charged with arson in connection with a fire that caused major damage to a 197-unit apartment building in the city earlier this year.

According to Hamilton Police, the early morning Feb. 10 blaze at 40 Oxford St. caused substantial damage to the building and posed a significant threat to human life, though nobody was seriously injured or killed.

Police investigating the fire, which broke out at about 5:30 a.m., subsequently obtained closed-circuit TV footage that captured the image of a man using a propane tank and blow torch attachment to set the blaze in a utility room.

Christopher Michael Norton, 36, of Hamilton, is charged with arson (disregard for human life), possession of incendiary material and mischief (damaging property valued at less than $5,000).

Police are still investigating and ask anyone with information to call investigators at 905-540-5085 or 905-540-3819.