A man has been arrested over the fire that tore into the accommodation area of the historic Oxford Hotel, which has been closed since late 2023 over a tenancy dispute.
Around 7am on Saturday emergency services were summoned to the complex on O’Connell Street in North Adelaide, finding an established blaze that had begun in an accommodation area adjoining the old pub.
As crews fought the fire, plumes of smoke could be seen pouring from the building and authorities issued a smoke warning, telling people to shut windows and doors. The road was temporarily closed to traffic between Tynte and Gover streets.
The source of the fire meant crews had to approach it on several fronts, from both outside and inside and from the air. Around 50 firefighters from nine stations took 45 minutes to get it under control.
“Fire cause investigators and Eastern District detectives are at the scene to determine the cause of the fire, however, police are treating this fire as suspicious,” a Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) spokesperson said on the day.
There was significant damage done to the building, estimated at $3 million, but the spokesperson stated that the MFS had managed to contain the fire to the accommodation.
“The firefighters responded quickly, they conducted the attack swiftly, which allowed them to restrict the damage to the affected areas of the accommodations in the back and preserving the hotel itself.”
There had been reports people were squatting in the building, but authorities did not find anyone.
Fire Cause Investigators and detectives from SAPOL eastern district attended and conducted investigations.
This led to the arrest by detectives of a 37-year-old man, the same day, at 5.30pm. He was subsequently charged with arson and detained. He did not apply for bail, and will appear before Adelaide Magistrates Court.
In September the well-known hotel closed due to a family dispute with the landlord and father of the operators, Con Makris.
