RCMP have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with a fire at an old emergency shelter for the homeless in downtown Moncton.

The Moncton man has been charged with arson with disregard for human life for lighting a fire inside the former House of Nazareth on Clark Street Feb. 18.

On Saturday, RCMP helped remove an unwanted person off the Moncton Hospital property. Police identified the person as the suspect in connection with the fire on Clark Street.

The man is in custody and scheduled to appear in Moncton provincial court on Wednesday for a show-cause hearing, a bail hearing where the prosecutor must show why the accused should not be released.

Old shelter to be demolished

While no one was in the building at the time of the fires last week, the building did sustain significant damage.

The fires started in the washroom on Monday and Tuesday and reignited Wednesday.

Around 20 firefighters battled the blaze on Tuesday.

Three fires broke out at the old House of Nazareth on Clark Street last week. (Michel Nogue/Radio-Canada)

Insurance experts said the building is not salvageable.

Jean Dube, executive director of the House of Nazareth, was able to return to the old shelter to retrieve a few archival documents.

"It no longer looked like House of Nazareth," said Dube, in French.

The building's windows and doors are boarded up and part of its roof is sagging.

A new shelter opened on Albert Street earlier in February. The old building was expected to be renovated and turned into a house for people transitioning away from a life of homelessness. Those plans have been put on hold for now.