Lethbridge man charged with arson in Sandman Hotel fire

The exterior of the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge, as seen on Google Maps. (Google Maps)

A 33-year-old Lethbridge man is facing charges following a fire at a downtown hotel on Monday morning.

Fire crews from four stations responded to the Sandman Signature Hotel in the 300 block of Scenic Drive South at roughly 1:15 a.m.

The fire was found burning under a concrete loading dock near the southwest corner of the hotel.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and were able contain the damage to the exterior of the building.

Crews also snuffed out a second, smaller fire involving a parked vehicle at the rear of the building.

The fires caused a "significant" amount of smoke to enter the building, according to police, which caused alarms to sound.

No one was injured and evacuated guests were allowed back into the hotel a short time later.

"Following further investigation by police, including video surveillance of the fire being started, a male matching the description of the subject was located nearby and arrested," said police in a Monday news release.

Charles Lewis Panther Bone, 33, of Lethbridge, is charged with arson disregard for human life, arson damage to property, obstructing a peace officer and two counts of assaulting a peace officer.