MacTavish’s fire suspect in custody

Downtown sporting-goods store sustained extensive damage in Tuesday night fire, says co-owner; Fredericton Police Force says 49-year-old man arrested in connection with blaze

A fire that severely damaged and shut a sports-supply institution in downtown Fredericton on Tuesday night was deliberately set, says the Fredericton Police Force, and officers have a suspect in custody.

David McKinley, assistant deputy chief with the Fredericton Fire Department, said Wednesday firefighters from all four of the city’s fire stations responded to a call at 10:29 p.m. Tuesday about smoke coming from a building on the 200 block of Queen Street.

MacTavish’s Source for Sports on Queen Street remained cordoned off Wednesday afternoon as fire and police personnel continued to investigate the cause of a Tuesday night fire. It’s been deemed to be arson. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

“Upon arrival, we found billowing smoke coming from several areas of 228 Queen St.,” he wrote in an email to the Fredericton Independent.

The location was MacTavish’s Source for Sports, a mainstay of the downtown retail sector for decades.