More charges laid against man accused in Whitehorse apartment arson

An Inuvik man charged in a Whitehorse apartment fire that left three people injured is facing three new charges.

Zander Firth, 20, appeared via video conference territorial court in Whitehorse on Jan. 12.

He was arrested following an alleged arson at the Ryder Apartment building in downtown Whitehorse that started the night of Jan. 8.

Firth was initially facing seven charges in relation to the incident, including three counts of arson causing bodily harm and four counts of breaching the conditions of a release order. He's now charged with three more one count each of arson causing damage to property, arson where the accused knows property is occupied, and breaching a no-contact order.

He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the majority of people living at the Ryder Apartment, which is owned by the Yukon Housing Corporation, were allowed to return home beginning Jan. 11, corporation spokesperson Sarah Murray wrote in an email to CBC.

Murray said there were 23 occupied units in the building at the time of the fire, and all displaced residents were temporarily housed at a local hotel over the weekend where they "had access to necessities like food, medication and clean clothing as well as access to mental health supports."