PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A man has been charged with arson after allegedly setting a fire at Southside Cultural Center while a holiday performance was happening at the Providence venue.
Fire department officials say no one was injured in the Saturday night fire, which was confined to a single room in the center. They say the fire caused moderate damage and was extinguished in about 20 minutes.
Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Desmarais told WLNE-TV that the suspect, Michael Weed, was a “frequent visitor” to the center, declining to elaborate. A police spokesman did not comment Sunday to the Providence Journal.
The center is an annex of the Trinity United Methodist Church, a historic building at the corner of Broad Street and Elwood Avenue.
