PAWTUCKET — A Providence County grand jury yesterday handed up indictments against a 72-year-old local man who allegedly set fire to a building that housed his fitness club — and then lied about it to the police.

Gary Gaudreau was indicted for first-degree arson and filing a false police report in connection with the March 2 fire that destroyed 170 York Ave. The building housed  The Physique Company — Gaudreau’s health club — as well as an auto repair business and a storage company.
Gaudreau, of 51 Hutchinson Ave., is to be arraigned in Superior Court on July 22, according to a press release issued by the office of Attorney General Patrick Lynch.
The fire, which destroyed the structure, took place in the wee hours of the morning during one of the worst snowstorms of the season. Firefighters said the adverse weather conditions impeded their ability to get the blaze under control quickly. A number of neighbors called firefighters to report the fire after noticing flames erupting from the cinderblock building.
Firefighters were calling the blaze suspicious within hours of extinguishing the blaze, and preliminary charges were brought against Gaudreau the day after the fire. Following his arraignment in District Court, Gaudreau was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions. Gaudreau remained in prison until April 7, when he was released into home confinement on bail, according to court records.
The Pawtucket Police, the Pawtucket Fire Department and the state Fire Marshal’s Office have been in charge of the investigation surrounding the fire.