A man pulled from a burning vehicle at an auto dealership by London police officers early Tuesday was charged later with arson, police said.

Emergency crews were called to vehicle fire near York and Maitland streets about 2 a.m., police said.

A woman at the scene told officers someone was in the burning auto, police said. Officers pulled him from the vehicle.

The man and woman were arrested at the scene, police said. No injuries were reported.

London firefighters extinguished the fire in the vehicle and two other vehicles that caught fire, police said. Damage is estimated at $16,000.

Elyas Samano owns Piccadilly Motors at 470 York St. where the vehicles caught fire. He said it’s not the first time the property has been damaged and broken into.

“It’s been worse lately, it’s happened at least five times since I bought the building (in 1998),” Samano said.

In August 2022, a mechanic found a body in a vehicle at the dealership, but foul play was not suspected, police said at the time.

“I’m feeling miserable, we don’t know what to do,” Samano said.

A 44-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, both of London, are jointly charged with arson causing damage to property.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call London police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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Fire crews also responded to a blaze in the second floor of a townhouse in the city’s south end near White Oaks Mall.

Firefighters encountered “heavy heat and smoke in the attic” when they arrived at 1095 Jalna Blvd. about 1 a.m. Tuesday, London Fire Department said on social media.

More units were dispatched to control “heavy fire in the front window,” it said.

Two people were displaced and damage was estimated at less than $200,000, the department said. Cause of the fire was not yet determined.

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Source: Man rescued from burning vehicle by police charged with arson | London Free Press