A fire that destroyed a church rectory near Wiarton has been deemed suspicious.

Police and firefighters were called to the rectory at St. Mary’s Catholic Church – on Lakeshore Boulevard in the Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation, near Wiarton – around 2 a.m. Friday in response to the fire.

They arrived to find the rectory engulfed in flames, though it was unoccupied.

Damage is estimated at $250,000.

A rectory is a residence used by a Catholic priest.