One man has been arrested, police say, in connection with an ambulance that was set on fire at Hamilton General Hospital on Sunday.
Police said paramedics had just arrived at the hospital at around 6 a.m., offloaded a patient and when they returned, the ambulance was "engulfed in flames."
Police said they were able to identify the suspect, a 31-year-old man, using CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts.
"It was learned that a lone suspect had tossed an accelerant into the ambulance and departed on foot," Hamilton police said in a news release.
There were no injuries reported.
In a video posted to a Hamilton Facebook group, a man with a bandana over his nose and mouth can be seen in CCTV video. He's seen opening the driver's side door to an ambulance belonging to Hamilton Paramedic Service, placing a bag inside the vehicle, closing the door and walking away. A few seconds later, a fire starts inside the ambulance.
Police confirmed to CBC Hamilton that the video showed what occurred.
Police said they found the man at a nearby bus stop. He was charged with "arson— disregard for human life" and three counts of failing to comply with probation order, according to police.
Hamilton Fire Department assistant deputy chief Shawn De Jager told CBC smoke conditions from the ambulance activated the alarm at the hospital.
"The fire was quickly extinguished and the [ambulance's] batteries where disconnected," he said and added there are no estimates of damage yet.
It takes more than a year to get a new ambulance
Paramedics Service Superintendent Dave Thompson said the service is "extremely grateful" no patients or paramedics were injured.
"While one ambulance was unfortunately destroyed, we can confirm that street-level service and emergency response capacity have not been affected," he said.
Thompson later told CBC Hamilton it takes over a year to acquire a new ambulance, in part, he said, due to continued supply hold-ups that date back to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the service usually sources them from a company in Beloeil, Que., one of the two manufacturers authorized by Ontario's Ministry of Health.
"This approach ensures manufacturers and their products meet strict safety and quality guidelines to ensure reliability and safety for paramedics and the public," he said.
The service currently has 57 ambulances, according to Thompson. He added that damage to the ambulance in the incident was caused by fire, smoke and heat, as well as water damage from the effort to put out the fire.