Teens charged with arson for Snowdon Theatre fire

Three teens have been charged with breaking and entering and arson in connection with a fire that cause significant damage to the historicSnowdon Theatre in March.

The three youths, two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old, were charged in youth court on April 13.

• Snowdon Theatre heavily damaged by afternoon fire

All three were also charged withconspiracy and one withpublic mischief.

It took 90firefighters to put out the fire on March 26 in theempty building onDcarie Boulevard.There was extensive damage to the roof.

Police at first labelledthe fire "suspicious" since there were no utilities in the building and nothing that could have caught fire on its own. Police later confirmed the incident to be arson after photos were posted online.

One photo showedsomeone standing over a pile of foam. Another picture shows the foam on fire.

The images were posted toSnapchatand appeared later on an online real estate forum.

The art deco building, which opened as atheatre in 1937, is owned by the City of Montreal and has been vacant for several years.