Someone intentionally set the fire that threatened one of Whitehorse's historic Log Skyscrapers, according to the Edmonton Police Service called in to investigate the suspicious blaze.

Early last Thursday morning, the fire department was called to extinguish a fire at 210 Lambert St., just hours after police executed a search warrant at the same address, seized drugs and cash and arrested its tenant, Steve Marada.

Marada has been charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

While Whitehorse RCMP turned the preliminary fire investigation over to Edmonton police, now that they have determined arson as the cause, local police will take over the case, Whitehorse RCMP spokesman Sgt. Don Roger said this morning.

Marada, who was in police custody at the time of the fire, first blamed the RCMP for starting it because according to him, they piled clothes on top of a baseboard heater during their search.

By Monday, Marada had changed his tune after speaking with an Edmonton fire chief accompanying Edmonton police investigators, who confirmed that there was a break-in and that the blaze was intentionally set.

"Before, I assumed it was the police ... but I'm getting a different story from the fire chief,” Marada told the Star Monday, when he offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the person or persons responsible.

Marada, who was in the process of opening an antiques store on the ground floor, said the contents of two safes he had were missing.

Also missing from Marada's digs are an ounce of cocaine, a quarter pound of marijuana and more than $1,400 in cash police confiscated as evidence in their ongoing investigation into Marada's activities that began several months ago in 2009.

Rogers confirmed this morning there were items stolen from Marada but declined to comment further.

"Were not putting out there what was stolen, because that's one of the things we can use in our investigation to tell us who's telling us the truth and who's not,” Rogers said.

Asked if the original police search included the contents of the safe, Rogers could not say.

"I don't know if they did or not ... it all depended on whether it was a warrant for the residence or for the store, or both,” said Rogers.

Marada lived on the second floor above a storefront located on the ground floor.

The three-storey Log Skyscraper adjacent to Marada's residence was not damaged.

Both structures were built in the late 1940s.