Officials from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church released footage leading up to and including when the fire tore through part of the building.
The incident happened on Feb. 19, Barrie police said just before 10:30 p.m., firefighters were on scene at the active fire at the rear of the church.
Mark Hoffman, chair of the board of managers for the church, told Barrie 360 that, after collecting the security footage, they conducted their own investigation.
Security video (edited for time) of the fire - provided by St. Andrew's
Hoffman says a man entered the church as part of a community group that was meeting that night.
"They were the only activity in the church," Hoffman said. "No other group was in there. No other church activity going on."
Hoffman continued:
"At 8:23 p.m., the individual walked up to the door, it was locked. They rang the bell and someone from the community group came and let them in. What we were able to do was account that 28 people had walked into the church that night. We continued to watch the footage and after the meeting ended ... we saw the organizers leave - they checked to make sure the door was locked. Unfortunately, only 27 people left the building ... and then our security footage shows him leaving via a backdoor at about 10:16 p.m., just seconds before flames are visible coming from the library window."
Officers say the accused, a 37-year-old man of no fixed address, was located and arrested at 12:42 a.m.
He was charged with three counts of arson and failing to comply with a probation order.
With the church unusable, Hoffman says they are holding Sunday services at 10 a.m. at Steckley-Gooderham Funeral Home for the time being.
Banner image - file photo - Michael Chorney / At the Scene Photography
