HALIFAX -- A Halifax woman says she’s not sure what the future holds for her and her newborn baby, after they were displaced from their home by a fire that police are treating as an arson.

It has been a tumultuous week for Kayla O’Connor, who went from celebrating the birth of her son Wednesday night, to learning her home had been damaged by a fire Thursday morning.

“Things can be so happy, and then turn so tragic,” recalls O’Connor, speaking from her room at the IWK Health Centre.

She has been at the hospital since her newborn son Jacob arrived Wednesday night. But the next morning, O’Connor’s joy turned to shock when she learned her apartment building had been the site of a fire.

“The only reason I found out was because I asked a neighbour how my cat was, and they said, ‘Oh, there’s a fire,’ explains O’Connor. “I said, ‘No, you’ve got to be kidding me, you’re joking.'"

Firefighters arrived at the building on Spencer Avenue in Halifax’s Spryfield neighbourhood around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

The building sustained significant damage inside and out, and the fire was deemed suspicious.

“Our investigators, along with the fire investigators, determined that fire to be deliberately set. We have arrested an individual in relation to that fire,” says Const. John MacLeod of the Halifax Regional Police.

Chris Drysdale, 35, was charged with arson and appeared in Halifax court Friday.

While O’Connor is happy no one was hurt, she’s not sure what will happen next. Once she and her son Jacob are discharged from the hospital, the Canadian Red Cross has offered to put them up at a hotel for a few days, and provide a chance of clothes and few toiletries, but after that, she will need to find a place to stay.

"At least 10 people have been displaced by a fire (Thursday) morning that damaged a nine-unit apartment building in the Spryfield district of Halifax," the Canadian Red Cross said in a news release. "Canadian Red Cross volunteers arranged emergency lodging and food, clothing purchases and other basics for nine adults from seven apartments."

O'Connor has started a Facebook fundraiser and says she’s looking for help, but not necessarily cash.

“It doesn’t have to be money, it could be baby’s clothes, kid’s clothes, I’m just more worried about my kids and having a place,” explains O’Connor. “I’m not really worried about myself because I can handle myself after I know everything else is OK.”

There is no word yet on when O’Connor or the other residents will be let back inside the apartment building, or what they will find when they get there.