UPDATED March 9 at 8:50 a.m.

The Ontario Fire Marshal's office and Greater Sudbury Police are investigating a suspicious fire on Burton Avenue.

The fire, which was reported at 3:21 a.m. March 7, caused severe fire, heat and smoke damage.

Greater Sudbury Fire Services Platoon Chief Tony Thibeault said the home was vacant at the time of the fire because it was under renovation. Nobody was injured as a result of the fire.

Thibeault said it took firefighters more than an hour to put out the blaze.

He said that when a fire is classified as suspicious, arson is suspected. When the site of the fire was visited by Northern Life during the afternoon of March 7, several police and fire department officials were present.

A Greater Sudbury Police forensic unit vehicle was on the scene. A group of men standing near the house told Northern Life they were relatives of the house's owner. They said the owner was being interviewed by investigators.

The men said it appeared that the front door had been forced open. One of the men speculated that it was a “man-made fire.”

Greater Sudbury Police spokesperson Bert Lapalme confirmed that there were signs of a break and enter at the house.

Another fire also took place in a home on Nolin Street in the Flour Mill in the early morning hours of March 7. This fire, which was reported at around 3:18 a.m., was caused by “careless smoking,” Thibeault said.

The owner of the home initially tried to put out the fire himself, and received minor burns to his face. He was treated on site by ambulance workers. Once firefighters arrived on scene, they were able to quickly put out the fire, which was contained in a bedroom of the home, Thibeault said.

When the site of the Nolin Street fire was visited by Northern Life March 7, the exterior of the home was not visibly damaged.