Police have charged a 34-year-old Oshawa man with several charges in connection with a fire at a Canadian store in Ajax.

Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, police were called about a fire in a fenced storage area next to the store at Kingston and Salem roads.

Police said a man fled in a taxi and, after arriving in Scarborough, left the cab without paying.

Officers arrested him in the backyard of a home near Meadowvale Avenue and Ellesmere Road.

The fire caused more than $500,000 in damage. There were several employees inside the store at the time, but no one was hurt.

Paul Nicholas, of no fixed address, has been charged with six offences, including arson causing damage to property, fraudulently obtain transportation, and possession of incendiary material.

He was held in custody awaiting a bail hearing.